Gujarat: In 1st Case Under Black Magic Law, Rajkot Man Arrested For Performing Rituals At Crematorium
On August 21, the Gujarat assembly passed the bill to curb the menace of black magic and other superstitious and inhuman practices. It became an act after the governor gave his assent
Rajkot News: A 29-year-old man was arrested in Gujarat's Rajkot for claiming that he possessed supernatural powers. The arrest came after the man allegedly performed some rituals inside a crematorium and shared a video of the act on social media, police said on Friday.
The man was booked under the Gujarat Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil, and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, making it the first case to be registered under the new law, a police official told news agency PTI.
The accused has been identified as one Ashwin Makwana. He was arrested on October 15 after a video of him performing rituals at a crematorium in Dhoraji town of Rajkot district went viral on social media, according to police.
In the video, Makwana is seen performing rituals inside a crematorium run by the municipality in the Kumbharwada area. After some time, he circles a pyre and sleeps on it while reciting some lines.
"During our investigation, we learnt that the person in the video was Ashwin Makwana, a sanitation worker. He uploaded the video on his Instagram account but deleted it after it went viral on WhatsApp," Inspector RJ Godham, a complainant in this FIR, said.
He said the accused claimed that he always believed in tantric rituals and black magic, but this was the first time he performed such rituals in public and shot a video. "Makwana wanted to create an impression that he possessed supernatural powers and knew black magic. He also wanted to teach a lesson to those who had made fun of his claims in the past," the official said.
Though offences under the Act are cognisable and non-bailable, Makwana was granted bail by the court the next day, he added.
About Gujarat's Law Against Black Magic
Inspector RJ Godham confirmed that this was the first FIR-registered state under the newly enacted law against black magic and other such activities.
"This new law came into effect on September 2 through a gazette notification, and when we tried to upload the FIR on our eGujCop platform on October 15, we learnt that no code was assigned to that Act. This proves that no FIRs were registered under it before this. A code was generated later, and we became the first police station to file an FIR under it," Godham said.
On August 21, the Gujarat assembly passed the bill to curb the menace of black magic and other superstitious and inhuman practices. It became an act after the governor gave his assent.
As per the Act, no person shall perform or even promote human sacrifice and other inhuman, evil and 'aghori' practices and black magic, and a person found guilty of such offences will have to face imprisonment of six months to seven years with a fine ranging from Rs 5,000 to 50,000.
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