In recent weeks, various parts of the nation have been gripped by a mass hysteria of sorts after women started claiming that their hairs were mysteriously being chopped while they slept at night. At least 9 cases of such incidents were reported from Delhi and incidents were even reported from UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. According to reports, as many as 35 cases were reported in just Braj and Aligarh areas in 3 days.
People became so paranoid by this ‘ghost’ that a poor 65 year old woman was killed in a village near Agra over suspicion of her being the perpetrator of the ‘endemic’. Earlier, a mentally unsound woman was beaten up in Rajasthan on same suspicion — an incident that was given communal colours by journalists.
Even though senior police officers were urging people not to fall prey to rumours, some cops weren’t helping matters by stating that the role of ”tantriks” or a gang performing black magic could not be ruled out.
Apart from all the hysteria, what was also noticeable was the fact that almost all the victims of this mysterious ”barber” were women. This might have led some overtly alert and hyperactive people to conclude that there were misogynistic undertones to the whole affair and that the perpetrators were sexist.
But a report from Hirwadi village of Mewat district in Haryana, would assuage the fear of these people. According to local media reports, a 20 years old boy named Nuruddin has claimed that his hair too was chopped off. Incredibly, rather than pointing a finger at any tantrik or those who disapproved of his hairstyle, he decided to blame it on a cat.
The report has quoted him as claiming that he had gone to the 1st floor of his house to grab a shirt. There he noticed that a cat was approaching the room, after which he mysteriously fell on his bed. As he tried to stagger up, he realised that the cat had sat on his body, cut his hair and took it with itself.
It remains to be seen if the people are successful in ‘cat’ching that cat.