What followed was a horrific result of the superstition villagers were following. All who dipped their palms in the boiling oil suffered burn injuries. The police have registered an FIR against Parmars and arrested them as well.

This is just one example of superstition due to which people have been harmed. Across the country every year several men and women are beaten and killed after accusing them of being involved in witchcraft or black magic.

Gone are the days when India was known as country of snake charmers and magicians across the world. Now the country is growing fast as a super power - be it economic sector or the science and technology. For a country, which is producing world class computer experts, who are employed by the world's top most companies, superstition is like a curse. The question is why superstition is still prevailing in our country even after achieving a technological supremacy.

Rationalists while expressing their anger over the instances of such incidents have demanded that those who are responsible should be punished strictly. “This is (superstitions) all non-sense. What are the police and administration doing? They (culprits in Gujarat's case) should be punished heavily,” Prabir Ghosh, General Secretary, Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, told this citizen journalist .

Sumitra Padmanabhan, General Secretary Humanists’ Association, blames the non-uniform growth in the country for cases of superstition. She said that the development has remained city centric; villages, tribal areas remain untouched from the rays of development.

“Our growth is not uniform. There are people who are far away from the advantages of growth. Secondly, the powerful people who are governing the society don't do anything to abolish superstition; instead they use superstition for their own benefit. In this particular case of Gujarat also, the accused leader was so angry after his defeat in elections that he wanted to punish the poor people,” said Ms. Padmanabhan.

She said that media should highlight the progressive part of the society, rather than showing violence, horror soaps and films. She said that the administration should not come under any sort of pressure while taking strict action against those who spread superstition in any form.

“See you will get injured in any case, if you dip your hands in boiling oil. But they (villagers in Gujarat) did so in fear. Later, they did not even come out to present the eyewitness account to the police, as they were too scared to do so. Administration should follow the law without coming under pressure of any political party. We have established laws against witchcraft, black magic and magic cure,” informed Padmanabhan.