The Mandar Killing Of Women In Jharkhand

The silence that fell on the night of August 7, 2015 in the Kanjiya-Maraitoli settlement of Mandar still echoes outside almost every house of the colony seven years later. Behind the silence lies the story of five women murdered here on that day, after being accused of being dayan/bisahi (witches). Even now, the locals are hesitant to talk about the incident.

The Mandar block’s headquarters lies about 40 km away from Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi. From there, you turn left and proceed about 1.5 km on the Kalikaran road to reach Kanjiya Maraitoli. After taking a trail and then some paved and mud roads, I reach the Adivasi-dominated settlement of about 75 houses and see very few men on the roads.