Headlines
Indian community seeks probe into 'witch doctors' in New Zealand
Wellington, Aug 1
Indian community leaders in
New Zealand have called for an investigation into on how "Hindu witch
doctors" have been able to operate in the country.
The leaders
also criticised the local diaspora media for allowing such practices to
be advertised while asking the Hindu community to avoid using the
services of such priests, "witch doctors" and astrologers, media reports
said.
Nearly 20 people gathered for a community meeting in
Auckland's Mount Roskill suburb on Saturday to tackle the issue of witch
doctors targeting the vulnerable in their community, web portal New
Zealand Herald reported.
"This is one of our biggest concerns," Indian community leader Pratima Nand, who chaired the meeting, was quoted as saying.
"Those
who are sponsoring these people should be made accountable for any
unwarranted activities committed by these people who have been sponsored
into the country," she added.
"Something has to be done to bring
a stop to these people. Immigration has a lot to answer for. How are
these people getting into the country? Under what criteria?" Chandu
Singh, former president of the Auckland Indian Association, told the
community.
The leaders resolved to write to New Zealand
Immigration Minister, Michael Woodhouse to start an investigation into
how the "witch doctors" were passing immigration checks.
The meeting also said the advertising in media had fuelled the perception that the "priests" were legitimate.
"The
local Indian media have failed to safe-guard the community. They are
not meant to publish anything that is false, and many of these ads were
mere lies," another member Thakur Ranjit Singh said, adding that the
"watch dogs have become the lap dogs".
The community leaders also
called for the local Indian media to develop a code of ethics in order
to avoid publishing adverts for "astrologists".
They also sought
codes for the Hindu organisations who sponsor priests from India to come
to New Zealand to perform proper background checks and for Hindus
moving to New Zealand to "abandon" their belief in such superstitious
practices at the border.
The community members also said that a
Facebook page named "Sadhu Busters" will be set up to gather information
on "witch doctors" from New Zealand.
Earlier, the Immigration
New Zealand (INZ) identified nine Indian-origin "witch doctors" on the
run after it came to light that they had duped vulnerable people.
Of the nine, five have already left the country, news channel 3News reported.
"The
individuals have been asked to respond to INZ's concerns before a
decision is taken on what action to take," INZ assistant general manager
Peter Devoy was quoted as saying.
The "witch doctors" have targetted several people in the Indian community across the country, the channel said.
An
Auckland businessman recently filed a police complaint after a witch
doctor duped him out of 275,000 New Z ealand dollars (about $181,300)
and left the country hours after receiving the cash.