Cuttack, July 23: Odisha police will now keep an eye on the activities of witch doctors practising sorcery, especially those in the rural and tribal dominated-pockets of the state.

A senior crime branch official said district police officials had been asked to prepare a list of quacks and witch doctors in their respective areas.

The decision will help the authorities to take timely action to prevent incidents of witch-hunt and superstition-related crimes that have been happening time and again in the recent past.

The move comes in the wake of the recent gruesome killing of six persons of a family at Lahanda hill under Joda police limits of Keonjhar district on July 12.

The incident has been accorded high priority and senior officials of the crime branch monitored and assisted the local police in carrying out a detailed probe into the killings.

Besides, the crime branch will organise a special training programme for police officials on how to deal with with-hunt and superstition-related cases and its subsequent investigation.

"Sixty senior police officers from different parts of the state will be trained on various witch-hunt and other specific crimes against women at a special training programme to be held in September," said B.K. Sharma, additional director-general of police (crime branch).

During the training programme, police officers will be made aware of the special legislation enacted by the state entitled Odisha Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 2013, to curb the practice.

The new act came into force after social activist Sashiprava Bindhani had moved high court seeking a stringent law to curb the evil.

Under the law, witch-hunters and those abetting it would be punished with a minimum imprisonment of three years that may be extended to seven years in case of the death of a victim.

A practising witch doctor will face a minimum imprisonment of one year.

The new law prohibits all forms of witch hunting and similar practices.

Sharma said that the crime branch would soon submit a proposal to the state government on possible measures that could be taken to put a check on such crimes against women by branding them as witch.

Crime branch sources said according to the proposed road map, emphasis would be given on awareness at the village level by including various persons, including anganwadi workers and education officers.

Besides, focus will be on making the police officers more pro-active and strengthening village-level information about ongoing tension among groups and individuals.

Sources said that already nearly 280 persons had been killed in separate incidents of witch-hunt and superstition-related crimes in the past five years.

Seventeen districts of the state, especially the rural and tribal pockets such as Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Ganjam are witnessing such incidents of violence.

According to official sources, the state has been witnessing between 15 and 20 murders every year on account of witch-hunting and black magic related crimes.