From June 2017 and on, hair chopping incidents have been reported in India and Nepal. The first incident occurred on 23rd of June. ABP News reported a woman from Bikaner, Rajasthan, had her hair chopped by a 'witch' as she slept. The incident went viral throughout India; predominantly in the northern states of Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Indian Administered Kashmir.
Video Hair chopping incidents in South Asia
India
Rajasthan
Following the June 23rd incident; hair chopping incidents increased. Fears of an epidemic -particularly in Rajasthan- soared. Incidents occurred not only at night, but also during the day.
Before the June 23rd event; a similar incident was reported three days earlier. In Pipad City, Jodhpur, a girl's hair was found cut off in the morning after she had slept. This news was first reported by Dainik Bhaskar. Along with the missing hair, the girl displayed injuries on other parts of her body[which parts?]. When police investigated, they found that the girl's hair was cut by a blade. However, they were unable to find the culprit.
On July 6th, 2017, the Hindustan Times reported that two girls from Rajasthan, aged 13 and 14 years old, and both unknown to each other, were victims of additional hair incidents.
On July 8th, 2017, the BBC reported that many western municipalities including Bikaner, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, and Jalore had been affected by these incidents.
Uttar Pradesh
In early August 2017, two cases were reported from Aligarh and Moradabad. Four cases were reported in Bulandshahr. But later UP Police and Delhi Police clarified that the incidents were only a rumour. According to The Indian Express news channel, around thirty cases were filed all over north India.
On August 2, a 62-year-old woman was killed by angry villagers in Agra for being accused as a "witch" who cut the braids of girls. NDTV India reported this news on August 3rd, 2017. UP Police has filed cases for murder on the two suspected neighbors who fled the city.
Delhi
On August 1st, 2017, three women, unknown to each other and aged between 50 and 60, from Kangan Heri complained about being the victims of hair chopping incidents on the same day. None of the women had seen their perpetrator, but when they fell unconscious and later woke up, they found their hair chopped.
Haryana
15 cases were reported in Haryana state. The women who were victims of these types of incidents said that they had witnessed "god-men", "witches" and "cat-like creatures". However, the police rejected these claims.
One such incident happened in Gurgaon on July 28th, when a 60-year-old woman found her braid chopped when she woke up lying on the floor. She made claims that a thin man came to her doorsteps with a trident in his hand. She claims she asked him to leave, but he reappeared, which led the woman to fall unconscious. The police filed the case and entered it in the Daily Diary.
Jammu and Kashmir
In this occupied region of India there have been more than 200 incidents of women being attacked and often knocked unconscious by men in balaclavas, who then chop off their traditional hair braids. Although officers have no solid leads or suspects, Kashmiri police are now also having to deal with a surge of revenge attacks by vigilantes armed with knives, cricket bats and iron rods.
The police's initial response to the braid attacks, which mainly occurred inside people's homes, was to suggest the victims were suffering from hallucinations. However police are now taking the attacks seriously after being criticized by the government-run Women's Commission over their initial approach. No arrests have yet been made. Tasleema Bilal, a 40-year-old woman whose hair was cut off last week while she was in her home in Srinagar, the region's main city, said she tried to remove the attackers mask before escaping, leaving her hair behind. Other women have said they were knocked unconscious with a mysterious chemical spray that authorities have yet to identify.
Kashmiris have alleged the attacks are the "handiwork of Indian agencies" trying to intimidate the portion of Kashmir's population that opposes Indian rule.
Residents are also suspicious of the Indian authorities, and some have accused soldiers and police of staging the attacks or protecting those responsible. In many incidents, the police and army appeared to aid the braid choppers in escaping by taking and saving them from public vigilantes.
On October 22, 2017, Arab News, a Saudi Arabian news agency, reported that around 100 women in Kashmir have been victims of hair chopping incidents.
Maps Hair chopping incidents in South Asia
Religious responses
Hinduism
In the June 23rd case, the victim's legs and hands were showing a Trishula mark, linking the incident to Hinduism. However, no Hindu religious leaders have responded to this detail.
Islam
Some Indian Muslims have also been victims of these types of incidents. Some Islamic scholars stated that these incidents are being executed by Satanic forces or Jinns and they victimize those who have not done Istinja (Islamic jurisprudence) in the correct way.
Change in the rumor
On August 19, a report from Dainik Bhaskar changed the discussion surrounding these events. The report clearly proved that there was no such evidence of a witch or a ghost being responsible. In this report, a man from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh caught an insect which was later suspected to be a Dermestidae, Drugstore beetle, Rain beetle or Varied carpet beetle. This insect is believed to feed on keratin found in hair and nails.
A similar case occurred on August 9, when a man killed a Honey badger accused of eating or chopping women's hair, but due to lack of evidence, this report faced negligence.
On August 17, a report from Manpur, Madhya Pradesh had several eyewitnesses. The incident happened around 4pm as the victim was sitting outside her house. She suddenly felt that her hair was being cut off. Her screaming brought the attention of her grandmother, who saw that her hair was being cut off, but she did not see anyone do it. Her grandmother quickly caught her fallen hair and the cutting stopped. Later the grandmother discovered an unusual detail. She noticed that as she picked up and held the hair, the rest of her granddaughter's hair was sheared, except for the exact number of hairs she held.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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