A man has been charged with splattering his wife’s face with hot fish curry over alleged Satanic possession and black magic, in Kerala’s Kollam district. On 29th October, Sajeer threw the boiling curry on her while it was cooking on the kitchen burner of their rental home, at around 9.30 am.
He had ordered the 36-year-old Rejila Gafoor to sit in front of him, untie her hair and let him apply ashes as well as fasten a locket around her neck that had been provided by a practitioner of black magic. However, she refused declaring her preference for Quranic prayers which triggered his outrage, leading to the attack.
According to the police, Rajeela had been suffering from an illness, and Sajeer had sought help from a Muslim sorcerer for a cure. That Muslim sorcerer told him that Rejila was possessed by a Satan, and he needs to perform black magic on her to remove the possession. The Ustad advised Sajeer to instruct her to wear an amulet, apply holy ash on her face, and keep her hair loose.
When Sajeer asked her to do these, she refused. Enraged by the refusal, he poured the hot fish curry on her face, badly burning her. When neighbours heard her scream, they rushed in, and took her to a hospital. She is at receiving treatment at private establishment in Anchal after suffering burns totalling about 11%.
“My husband had visited a Ustad who claimed that Satan haunted me. He asked me to wear an amulet, apply holy ash on my face, and leave my hair open. When I refused and told the Ustad that I would seek relief through prayers from the Holy Quran instead, my husband got furious and poured the boiling curry on me,” Rajeela told Manorama News.
Sajeer had previously thrashed her on multiple occasions because he thought she was possessed by an evil spirit and hence approched the practitioner. Rejila had gone to the police previously after he had beaten her earlier, and police had warned him against using violence against her.
Despite the warning at the time, officers stated that he eventually started seeking advice from black-magic practitioners. According to the victim, her husband often went to see an Usthad (sorcerer) in Anchal who used black magic and suggested that he should tie a locket and put ashes on her.
She even accused that he frequently assaulted their son. Chadayamangalam Police stated that they are trying to find the offender after a complaint was submitted against him under Section 118(1) (causing hurt using dangerous weapons or means) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, he was later arrested.
