NHRC notice to Raj govt over women being 'branded' as witches

National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the government of Rajasthan over a group of women being allegedly branded as witches in Bhilwara district.
The Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about the plight of these women.
The state authorities have allegedly not taken effective action against either the offenders or to curb this menace, an NHRC statement said.
"The contents of the news report, if true, raise serious violation of human rights of the hapless and helpless women in the state of Rajasthan," observed the Commission while issuing notices to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of the state and called for reports in the matter.

"They have been asked to indicate the action taken by the law enforcement in each such incident and the steps taken by the state authorities to address the issue," the statement said.
Highlighting their difficulties, the media report alleges that most often widows or women without any family support had been branded as "witches". Some of them were "tortured brutally or even killed". Some of them were forced to leave their homes, and their properties were grabbed by powerful people, it said.