Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Thursday took suo moto cognizance of a TOI report on March 3 on the murder of five persons of a family, including a five-year-old boy, in Gumla and ordered the DGP, chief secretary and the social welfare secretary to furnish a report in the matter.
The court also asked the government to inform about the steps taken to create awareness against witchcraft and superstitious beliefs. Observing that the “state should wake up from its slumber”, a division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad directed the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority to send a team to Gumla and submit a report. The case will be heard next on March 18.