Panic in Rajasthan village over ‘ghost scissorhands’
There is a new entrant in the supernatural world in some parts of western Rajasthan and unlike the mythical bogeyman, it’s something that scares not just the kids but their parents as well.
For over a fortnight, district administration along with the police in western Rajasthan have been at their wit’s end trying to solve cases where families have complained that the hair of girls and women are being cut, with no suspect being held so far.
It started off as a rumour and became a quasi-truth over the time courtesy of forwarded messages on social media and local ‘godmen’ who seem to be profiting the most.
“A few days ago, my 13-year-old daughter Asha (name changed) was sleeping when someone chopped off a thick bunch of her hair. We came to know about the incident when she woke up and started crying,” Baburam Meghwal, told the HT.
Meghwal, a resident of Phalodi in Jodhpur district, was already aware of the phenomenon from newspapers reports and WhatsApp messages when the incident in his house happened.
Tarachand Lakhan claims his family was ‘drugged’ when the hair of his 14-year-old daughter Komal (name changed) was snipped.
“I work at a hospital as a fourth class staff and was on duty when the incident happened. My family was watching TV when a strange smell started to come through the cooler and they all fell asleep,” Lakhan told HT.
According to the police, at least 12 such incidents have been reported in the past fortnight in the rural division of Jodhpur, where women have complained of their hair being cut by an unknown entity. The other instances pertain to various areas of Bikaner.
“We are investigating all the occasions but so far it’s not clear that who all are behind the phenomenon. Most of these incidents have taken place in the remotest of villages where literacy is very poor,” said Ravi, Jodhpur SP of police (rural).
The police have also said that in two of the cases, including the lone instance where the hair of a man was chopped, it was found out that the ‘victims’ cut the hair themselves.
Around mid-June, WhatsApp groups in Bikaner, Jodhpur and other districts of western Rajasthan were abuzz with similar messages.
They ‘warned’ villagers that a group of outsiders with occult powers have entered the area, they are people who can shape shift and are cutting the hair of women for occult practices.
If there’s one particular group that has benefitted from the panic and fear of the villagers, it’s the cult of village godmen known as ‘bhopa’ in Rajasthan. Many of the families are visiting these bhopas, asking for solutions.
These godmen, under the ‘influence of spirits’, tell the worried families that an evil force is after them and as expected, to ward off the ghosts the panicked villagers need to fill up the pockets of the bhopas.