Doctors and medical and health authorities who visited the Jawahar Nagar Colony of Rudrur village in Varni mandal, where an unidentified middle aged woman was tortured and brutally beaten allegedly for u practising witchcraft, made it clear to the residents that out of superstition and illiteracy people were being led to believe that witchcraft was being practised.
They said that some people in the name of witchcraft were trying to create rift among villagers and suspecting neighbours leading to clashes in the villages.
Very often such superstitions are being used to provoke the villagers to attack their rival groups to settle scores, they felt.
Addressing the gathering of residents at the local health sub-centre at the colony Dr. A. Vishal, head department of Neuro Psychiatric Department, at the Government Medical College, here said that the woman who was attacked recently by the accused was struggling for life at the Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad.
The victim who arrived from a place not known to anybody, in fact, is mentally unsound and couldn’t tell about herself when she was beaten up with iron rods.
It was very unfortunate that the accused even removed her teeth, he said and added that those who suffer from mental ailments boast about themselves giving doubts about their character to strangers.
He advised the villagers that if they grew suspicious of anybody’s strange behaviour they must inform the local doctors and police, but not resort to physical attacks or killings.
The accused would be imprisoned which would disturb their families, he said. He went on to say that consumption of artificial toddy and ganja if given up abruptly would develop withdrawal symptoms leading to behaviour in them.
Health educator Venkatesh, Medical Officer Vidya, village sarpanch Shekar, panchayat ward members and caste heads were present.
