Three Adivasi women were murdered in Jharkhand, India because they were believed to be witches. In the Godda district, the village panchayat (council) ordered that two of the women be burned alive. Although the Witchcraft Prevention Act of 2001 is meant to protect people from such witch-hunts, it is not being implemented effectively, as the local police ignored the brutal-killings. It is believed that many people use such superstitious claims to target women to seize their property.
