UP: Girl’s kin chop off her hair to get Rs 1 lakh relief, caught

Lucknow: A 17-year-old girl’s family cut off her hair after a relative said the government was giving Rs 1 lakh compensation to victims of braid cutting’ incidents. The incident was reported on Saturday from Laru village in Pratapgarh district. According to the police, the family raised an alarm and admitted the “unconscious” girl to a local hospital.

However, the police became suspicious when doctors said that the girl was not in a state of shock as claimed by the family. Kunda Kotwali station house officer A.K. Singh said the family members were questioned separately and were found to be making contradictory statements.

They later admitted to having cut off the braid themselves. Pratapgarh superintendent of police Shagun Gautam said some Punjab-based relatives of the girl told her family about the Rs 1 lakh compensation. The family assumed that she could also benefit if they managed to declare her a victim. The series of mysterious attacks, reported from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, have created panic among the villagers. many of whom believe them to be the work of ghosts.

The strings of unexplained attacks have occurred in largely rural areas, where superstition is sparking hysteria and allegations of witchcraft. In Uttar Pradesh, a 62-year-old woman was lynched in Agra on suspicion that she was a witch responsible for the hair cutting.