Teased by schoolmates, girl chops tresses, cooks up ghost story to escape parents’ ire

THERE’S A RUMOUR IN SOME PARTS OF THE WESTERN RAJASTHAN ABOUT A MYTHICAL BOGEYMAN WHO CHOPS WOMEN’S HAIR

A 17-year-old girl in Rajasthan chopped off her hair short after her classmates teased her for having long hair. But the teen was scared that her parents may not like her short hair so she cooked up a story and said that a ‘ghost’ cut off her tresses.

However, after her story created a scare in the neighbourhood and the police reached her house, she spilled the beans and said she made up the story as girls in her family were not allowed to keep short hair. Police said that a Class 12 student of Prem Nagar area of Kota city on Tuesday alleged that a ghost had chopped off her hair when she was serving fodder to the goats in her backyard. She said she felt a burning sensation and later saw her hair on the ground. Her parents were not home when the alleged ghost attack took place.

There’s a rumour in some parts of the western Rajasthan about a mythical bogeyman who chops women’s hair. Several women in Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaipur have reported that some ‘ghost’ cut their hair and left a mark on their body. However, psychiatrists have said such women suffer from delusion. In most cases, women admit to cutting their hair themselves.

News of Kota’s first such incident spread like wildfire and a large number of people gathered at the girl’s house. Her family registered a complaint with the Udyog Nagar police about the supernatural attack, said Suresh Kumar, SHO of the police station.

However, when Dr Seema Chauhan, a young lady officer under probation, spoke to the girl, she told her the truth. “I spoke to her at length and won her confidence after which the girl told me that she wanted to keep her hair short but her parents wouldn’t approve of it,” said the police officer.

The girl told the officer that her schoolmates teased her for her hair. When she heard about the hair-chopping rumours on TV, she got the idea to cut her hair.

The girl’s father is a labourer and works in a local factory. Her mother is a housewife.