In a seemingly bizarre incident, a woman home guard in Bahraich district has been placed under suspension for allegedly practicing witchcraft at the residence of the district magistrate, Pinky Jowel.
The district magistrate, also a woman, reportedly got suspicious when she found yellow mustard seeds scattered in her bedroom
In a show-cause notice issued to the home guard, Mithilesh Saini, the latter has been asked to explain why she put a line of yellow mustard seeds on her bed. The notice accuses Mithilesh Saini of using the seeds for practicing black magic on the district magistrate..
After the incident took place, Pinky Jowel got a Hindu priest to perform a ‘yagya’ in the bedroom as a purification ritual to ward off the suspected evil effects of the witchcraft.
Ram Darshan Misra, the priest who performed the ritual told reporters in Bahraich, “I did perform a yagya to ensure that the district magistrate remained safe from all evil effects of whatever witchcraft was carried out in her official residence.”
Meanwhile Mithilesh Saini told reporters that the allegations were completely baseless and she had purchased yellow mustard seeds to make pickle at home and some of these seeds fell off while she was giving massage to the district magistrate.
“Nearly half a dozen other home guards posted in the Distict Magistrate’s residence are forced to carry out menial domestic jobs that include sweeping the floors, cleaning of toilets, giving her a body massage and washing the toilet. We are made to work like domestic slaves,” she said.
The district magistrate refused to respond to phone calls and made herself unavailable even to local reporters.