Braid-chop hysteria: Agra villagers lynch Dalit woman
AGRA/NEWDELHI: A 60-year old Dalit woman was allegedly lynched in Agra after villagers thought she was out to cut the hair of sleeping women, the first reported fatality of what appears to be turning into a case of mass hysteria.
Growing number of people, particularly in rural districts, of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have reported mysterious instances of sleeping women being attacked and their hair chopped off short. Family members said Maan Devi left the home around 4 am on Wednesday but lost her way, reaching a predominantly upper caste neighbourhood where people spotted her.
“She pleaded that she had lost her way but they took as one responsible for cutting women’s hair in Mutnai village and killed her,” the victim’s daughter-inlaw, Kalpana Jatav, said.
Local police first denied the death was connected to the “ghost barber” panic. Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Fatehabad, Tej Veer Singh said a case was registered including charges relating to atrocities against Dalits, and teams were keeping a vigil in the area.
The police also appeared to deny that the woman was beaten to death. “The post-mortem report of Maan Devi indicates she died of cardiac arrest and not due to beating,” Singh said.
POLICE APPEARED TO DENY THAT THE WOMAN WAS BEATEN TO DEATH, AND CLAIMED THE POSTMORTEM REPORT INDICATES SHE DIED OF CARDIAC ARREST
BATHINDA/MUKTSAR: After a dozen such claims in Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi wherein women claimed their braids were chopped off mysteriously, three such cases have emerged in Punjab too.
Sapna, 28, a resident of Chaunsar Basti in Bathinda, said on Thursday that she had gone to the washroom around 8.30 am where she fell unconscious “all of a sudden” and when she gained consciousness one of her braids was chopped off.
Her husband, Satish, who collects rags from households for resale, said over the phone that he was not at home while their son and daughter were with Sapna in their in the rented accommodation when the purported incident took place. “A woman from the neighbourhood rushed to our home when my wife fell in the washroom and the children raised the alarm,” he said.
The family hails from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and, scared, they left for their native place and have also got her head shaved to avoid “the bad omen”. No police complaints were made.
Also, in Bharu village near Gidderbaha in Muktsar district, an 11-year-old girl’s braid was also reportedly found chopped off the same day. Her father Binder Singh said daughter Komalpreet Kaur and son Lovepreet Singh were sleeping in the same room with him, while his wife Karmjeet Kaur, daughter Sukhpreet Kaur, and two other relatives were sleeping in the courtyard. “When we woke up in the morning, we found Komalpreet in the courtyard! And her hair were cut,” he said.
Meanwhile, rationalist Ram Swarn Lakhewali, state president of the literature wing of Tarksheel Society, said, “There is no ‘superpower’ at play, and there is no need to panic. Awareness among the people is needed.”
A third case emerged in Narsingh Colony of Sangat area in Bathinda on Wednesday night. Jaspreet Kaur, 30, was sleeping with her husband in the house when she purportedly noticed that her braid was chopped off. The colony is close to the border with Haryana where already some cases have emerged.
The family also reportedly heard sound of “somebody going out of house”. Cops also visited the house, though, the family hasn’t lodged any formal complaint.
SAPNA, 28, OF BATHINDA SAYS SHE SUDDENLY FELL UNCONSCIOUS IN WASHROOM. WHEN SHE CAME TO SENSES AGAIN, ONE OF HER BRAIDS WAS CHOPPED OFF