Maharashtra Women Comissioner Demands Action Against 'Tantricks', Here's Why

The Maharashtra State Women Commission (MSWC) demanded stern action against tantriks and self-proclaimed godmen on Monday, following reports of superstitious acts involving women and children in various towns throughout the state.

The MSWC has taken suo moto cognisance against anyone encouraging such behaviours and adhering to godmen in response to recent cases recorded in Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Pune.

MSWC action against tantricks

"We have written to senior police officers, including Nagpur police commissioner, to initiate action against tantriks and babas," MSWC chief Rupali Chakankar stated.

According to Chakankar, a tantrik in Nagpur stated that a six-year-old girl with a speech disability had been murdered by her parents on the instructions of the tantrik because the girl was reportedly possessed by an evil spirit.

Similar to this, a video of a different event from Aurangabad is becoming viral on social media, in which a godman is seen putting his hands on a woman's head and professing to be able to cure her of her problems, she added.

A woman in Pune was forced to bathe naked in front of others in order to bear a son. The godman, the woman's husband, and her in-laws were all detained by the neighbourhood police after the incident, she also claimed.

Suggested Reading: Pune Woman Forced To Bathe In Public Under ‘Ritual To Conceive A Son’, Case Filed

A case was filed against four people, including the husband, in-laws, and occultist Moulana Baba Jamadar, as a result of the woman's complaint.

According to Pune’s Bharti Vidyapeeth police, "They have been booked under Indian Penal Code section 498 (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and relevant sections of Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013."

According to the police, the woman said in her complaint that since 2013, her in-laws have been torturing her emotionally and physically over dowry and for failing to have a male child. She also claimed that they had subjected her to several black magic rituals as a result.

Representative feature image credit: TOI