Picnic with women branded as witch organised

To send out a positive message to society, a unique picnic was today organized at Bholadih village with around 30 women, who were branded as witches and driven out of their homes.
Organized by a social organization "Kavi Kaushal Samaj Seva, here, the "Diano ki picnic" (Picnic of women branded as witch), claimed to be the first of its kind in the country, was organised at Birbans Football ground at the village, about 25 km from the steel city of Jamshedpur, in adjoining Seraikela-Kharswan district.
The objective behind it was to spread awareness in the society particularly among the younger generation that nothing like "Dian" (witch) exists on this planet, founder of the organization, Kavi Kumar, a journalist who witnessed over 100 witchcraft killing during his 30-year career, said.

"I have selected Bholadih village for this picnic because I had witnessed killing of six members of a family on the pretext of practicing black magic at Simulbeda village under Gamariah police station and four members of family, where were beheaded and burnt for the same reason at Sigiritola under Kuchai police station of the district" Kumar said.
In the 21 years between 1991 to 2012, while three witchcraft related killing had taken place, six such killings had taken place in the last nine months (between September 12 2015 and June9, 2016) in the district, Kumar, who runs "Azad Mazdoor" hindi tabloid since 1953, said.

While emphasizing the need for awareness campaign in all schools to dispel fears about witchcraft from the minds of youths, participation of panchayats in anti-superstition rallies is vital as the rural body plays an important role in eradicating the menace, he said.
Advocating for friendly policing, Kumar said the police should play a role to convince the villagers to involve in accepting and rehabilitating women who are branded witches.
Kumar, however, regretted that he had invited the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, Sub-divisonal Officer, among others, of the district to participate in the event as it would send a right message in the society but none of them turned up.