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A woman in Banitia village, Bhadrak district, alleged that villagers beat and stripped her on September 25, 2026, after suspecting her of practising witchcraft. Hindustan Times reported on October 1 that police had registered a case naming six people, including two women. The allegation has not been established by a court.
What the woman alleged happened in Banitia
In an account published by Hindustan Times on October 1, the woman said a group attacked her at home and in the street on September 25, while her husband and son were away. She alleged that the group suspected her of witchcraft, beat her, and stripped and assaulted her in public.
She also said that when she was being taken for treatment in an auto-rickshaw, villagers stopped it, pulled her out and assaulted her again. The report says police later reached the village, rescued her and took her to Bhadrak District Headquarters Hospital. These details are the woman’s account as reported; the article does not describe an independent inquiry into each part of it.
What police said about the complaint
The woman lodged a complaint on the Wednesday before the October 1 report. Hindustan Times said police registered a case naming six people, including two women. It did not provide an FIR number or specify the offences registered.
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On October 1, Bhadrak Rural police station inspector-in-charge Subrat Das told the newspaper that no one had been arrested at that point and police were searching for the people named in the complaint. That is the status reported on October 1, not confirmation of the investigation’s current status.
What Odisha’s witch-hunting law and policy context establish
The Odisha Police Crime Against Women and Children wing identifies the Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2013 and describes witch-hunting as a deplorable practice. The police page also notes constitutional protections and lists legal provisions that may be used in witch-hunting cases. The incident report does not say which statutory sections police registered in this case, so those general examples should not be treated as charges against the named people.
Hindustan Times reported that the state government was moving to frame a “State Policy for Witch-Hunting (Prevention, Protection and Prosecution), 2026.” The report does not establish that the policy was adopted, published or put into force.
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