In an incident that took place in the Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, police had to rush to a school to deal with a “Tantrik” inside a school. This happened after a Tantrik was called to treat students when they fell ill instead of calling a physician to treat the condition of the pupils.
The locals of that area were convinced that due to the several tantra vidya performed in a mandir situated near the school, the effects of it have started to show on the kids studying in the school. According to several villagers, the vicinity of the school is inhabited by a ghost. The locals have even claimed to have seen a woman wearing a white saree, who was probably the assumed ghost. This woman then is said to have disappeared into thin air. The girl who witnessed the incident, fainted after she panicked over what she saw.
The infuriating video in Uttar Pradesh
A video of the incident went viral on the internet and as soon as it caught the attention of some cops, they took charge of it. The Tantrik was chased out of the school premises and the school children were admitted to a local community health center by the police.
This brutal case of superstition gave chills to many who witnessed it. The Tantrik performed ‘jhar-phook’ on the girls for over two hours. In the viral video, a Tantrik can be seen holding the hair of a girl tightly. He held the hair in a vertical position and moved her head in a circular motion.
The police investigation
Since the incident took place after the consumption of a mid-day meal prepared at the school, samples of the food were sent for investigation to the food inspector. According to the doctor in the community health care center, all the girls were showing different symptoms though. Some were complaining of headaches and others were complaining of stomach aches. Most importantly, all the girls did not consume the mid-day meal. It is speculated that the girls fell ill because of the immensely cold weather. The police are also trying to pinpoint the person who presented with the idea of calling a Tantrik instead of a doctor for treatment inside the school.
All these girls are within the age bracket of 9 to 12 years and are now returning to normalcy according to the doctors at the Community Healthcare Center to which they have been admitted.
A similar case from Orrisa
A similar incident was reported 6 years ago in the Kalahandi district of Orrisa. In the month of July of that year, a student of a school lost her life to malaria and six more students from the same school were found infected with the same disease. The headmaster of the school then decided to call a ‘witch doctor’ instead of a real doctor to provide the students with the necessary treatment. A Pigeon was sacrificed by the Tantrik in order to chase away the ‘bad omen’ that affected the students.
The Great Tantra Challenge
In an event from 2008, Sanal Edamaruku threw a challenge at a Tantrik named Surinder Sharma, to kill him on live TV using only the magical powers he claims to possess. This challenge was broadcasted live on television and Edamuruku remained unharmed. This was named ‘The Great Tantra Challenge’ and it exposed the absurdity of the practice.
