Ranchi, April 18: Lukewarm efforts by the government to strictly implement the Witchcraft Prohibition Act, 2001, has driven Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), a free legal aid body, to act.

Having identified as many as 150 cases of women being mentally and physically tortured in Santhal Pargana districts of Deoghar, Dumka and Giridih alone this year, it now wants to extend legal assistance to the victims.

“We recently held a public hearing in Dumka, where as many as 150 women, who are regularly tortured by their village men or kin, sought legal assistance,” said Kripamani Surin, a lawyer associated with HRLN. She said 24 of these cases are already in Dumka court, but due to lack of legal assistance to them, the culprits continue to walk free.

HRLN is an all-India body of lawyers who provide free legal assistance, especially to the poor, tribals, Dalits and women. A few HRLN lawyers even practise in Supreme Court. In Jharkhand, about 20 lawyers are associated with HRLN.

Cases of such physical and mental torture of women branding them as witches would be no less than 1,000 in the entire state, said the lawyers. However, the record maintained by the state police indicates that this year, only 45 cases have been registered across Jharkhand, where innocent women have been tortured in the name of practising witchcraft. Police records show around 975 women have been tortured since the act came into force in 2001. Worse still, around 434 women have so far been killed, being branded witches.

Only two women have walked into the office of the Jharkhand State Commission for Women to seek help. “Usually, women tortured in the name of witchcraft do not come to us for help. That is why we are considering to take suo moto cognisance of any torture on women,” said Laxmi Singh, the chairperson said. She added that the commission would take step in trying to help the victims after reading incidents of their torture in journals.

Though the act is in force for seven years, its weak legal provisions have failed to instil fear in the culprits. As per the provisions, culprits could be sentenced to three months in jail with Rs 1,000 fine or six months in jail with Rs 2,000 fine. “Unless the government amends the act and hikes the penalty, the menace cannot be checked,” said Etmanel Bhowra, another lawyer of HRLN.

She said that the Act has failed to help the victims.

Asking for an amendment in the Act, the legal body has already written a letter to the Chief Minister asking the government to take up amendment work of the Act and make the provision of penalty 'severe'.