Increasingly gruesome details of the ‘black magic’ murders in Kerala emerged on Wednesday, where two women were killed and buried by a couple in a ritualistic ‘sacrifice’ in Pathanamthitta district. The case has shed spotlight on similar incidents in India, where murders carried out in the name of superstition, or ‘black magic’ rituals are not uncommon.
In October this year itself, two men were arrested for allegedly killing a six-year-old boy, in what they claimed was a “sacrifice for prosperity”, at the construction site of the CRPF headquarters in South Delhi’s Lodhi Colony. And in May, a man allegedly beheaded his 60-year-old maternal uncle over black magic suspicion and walked around two kilometers with his severed head and axe in hands in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh before being nabbed by the police.
Black magic crimes and other superstitious offences violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by Indian Constitution Articles 14, 15, and 21. These acts also violate several international treaties, including the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” and “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” to which India is a signatory.
There is no established definition of what black magic is due to a lack of nationalised legislation on the subject. Despite the fact that the constitution and international law guarantee fundamental rights, the reality on the ground remains very different, says a report by Legal Services India on ‘How Black Magic Governed in India’.
According to the report, the flaws in the Indian Penal Code are primarily to blame for this. In light of this situation, some Indian states have recognised the need for specific anti-black magic laws since 1999.
Maharashtra
The Maharashtra state government passed the widely publicised anti-superstition bill, The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil, and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, in 2013. The law seeks to make black magic, human sacrifices, the use of magic to treat illnesses, and other practises that prey on people’s superstitions illegal. The Act’s goal is to reduce superstitions that cause financial and physical harm.
If found guilty, the criminal faces a prison sentence of six to seven years and a fine of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000. These are all non-bailable offences. Assume the accused was found guilty under the law. In that case, the competent court must order the police to publish the location of the offence as well as other relevant information in the local newspaper.
Karnataka
Following in the footsteps of Maharashtra, the state of Karnataka enlisted the help of law students from the National Law School in Bangalore to come up with Karnataka Prevention of Superstitious Practices Bill, 2013. This legislation is known as the Anti-Superstition Bill. Authorities hoped it would put an end to a variety of cruel customs, such as witchcraft, black magic, and acts committed in the name of a religion that endangers both people and animals.
It contains provisions to deal harshly with heinous acts such as human sacrifice, flaunting naked women, and sexual exploitation through the use of supernatural forces. The Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017, was recently approved by the Karnataka Cabinet, the report said.
Meanwhile, various shocking cases surrounding ritualistic murder have dotted India’s crime scene over years.
‘Brain Soup’
A case that took place 20 years back was highlighted once again after a recent documentary on Indian serial killers. On December 2000, Dhirendra Singh, a journalist of a Hindi daily, mysteriously went missing. Raja Kolandar and a Vakshraj were arrested in case and Kolandar was imprisoned for life, according to a report by Jagran.
Over time, details emerged that Raja Kolandar reportedly ‘ate’ the brain of one his victims to gain intelligence in another inexplainable ritualistic murder, said reports. Police also reportedly found body parts at a farmhouse where Kolandar resided.
6-yr-old Gangraped, Lungs ‘Taken Out’ in Ritual
In 2020, a six-year-old girl was gangraped and her lungs were removed by the killers in Kanpur, India Today said in a report. According to police, the lungs were removed in order to perform black magic to ‘assist’ a woman in giving birth to a child.
The girl had been missing from the Ghatampur area since Diwali night. Following the discovery of the body, police apprehended the murderers, Ankul Kuril (20) and Beeran (31). According to the accused, the girl was murdered and her lungs were extracted and given to key conspirator Parshuram Kuril to perform black magic.
Andhra’s Shocking Case
In another case that made headlines in 2021, a couple in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district murdered their two daughters, believing that they would resurrect within hours due to spiritual power as ‘the Kaliyuga ended and the Satyayuga began’. What’s more bizarre is that the victims, who were in their twenties at the time, appeared to share their parents’ ‘delusional’ belief.
According to reports, the couple is accused of killing their daughters using dumbbells and a trishool. According to Chittoor SP Senthil Kumar, the couple believed they would return alive after being cleansed of all evil. The couple hoped to appease supernatural forces by murdering both of their daughters.
According to their neighbours, the couple used to perform strange pujas at their home, and a similar ritual was carried out even on the night of the murders.
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