New Delhi — Aditya Prasad on Thursday condemned the alleged ritualistic killing of a 13-year-old girl in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, calling it a shocking example of superstition and black magic still prevailing in parts of the state.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP leader described the incident as deeply unfortunate. The case surfaced in Kusumbha village under the Bishnugarh police station area, where the minor was allegedly strangled to death by her mother on March 24 as part of a human sacrifice ritual.
Police have arrested the girl’s mother, along with an occult practitioner and another accomplice. According to investigators, the mother had been consulting the tantrik over her younger son’s health issues and was allegedly advised that sacrificing a “virgin girl” would cure him.
Prasad said the incident highlighted the dangers of blind faith and criticised the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren for failing to curb such practices. He alleged that repeated cases of witch-hunting and ritual killings showed a lack of political will to address the issue, particularly in rural and tribal regions.
He urged the state government to launch awareness campaigns, strictly enforce anti-superstition laws, and ensure strong punishment for those promoting black magic.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has constituted a panel to investigate the incident, and local police have formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the case. Prasad called on authorities to treat the matter with utmost seriousness and ensure it becomes a turning point in tackling superstition-related violence in Jharkhand.
With inputs from IANS