Occult or mystic practices, falling under the category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and black magic, have been exercised for ages across the Indian subcontinent.
‘Tantra’ is an ancient Indian practice, exercised by ‘siddh babas’ (faith healers), gurus, and fakirs for more than 5,000 years in many parts of the country.
Recently, a 45-year-old woman filed a complaint of molestation against a mystic sinner or healer (Tantrik), who allegedly stripped and molested her on the pretext of a ritual to ward off bad luck.
The incident happened in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district.
According to the sources, the victim and her husband, who live in the Vastral locality befriended a man named Pravinsinh Gor, who claimed to be a ‘Bhuva’ (a healer). He promised the family to get them out of all their financial troubles through ‘tantrism’. During the exercise, the accused told the woman that her husband and son are ‘ashuddh’ (impure) and asked them to leave.
Meanwhile, just on the pretext of performing another ritual, the Tantrik Gor, stripped off the woman’s clothes and started molesting her. On her scream, the victim’s husband and her son entered the room, but in the meantime, the accused Gor fled away. After registering an FIR, Ramol police arrested the accused, Pravinsinh Gor. The investigation is underway.
Many such incidents have occurred across India in the past few months and have been taking place for many years.
In one such incident, a 27-year-old married woman in the Barmer district of Rajasthan was allegedly raped and blackmailed by a Tantrik on the pretext of getting her a job.
In another nerve-wracking incident in the Balasore district of Odisha, a woman was held captive in an isolated room and brutally raped for 79 days by a ‘tantra’ practitioner to get her marital issues fixed.
Superstitious practices that are utterly dehumanising, brutal and exploitative need to be dealt with by a law that specifically addresses them. The Indian Penal Code is not equipped to deal with crimes on account of black magic and other mystic practices.
