BHOPAL: Braid chopping incidents in Madhya Pradesh were first reported in Morena and Sheopur districts in Chambal region in the first week of August. The cases surfaced in villages in Virpur, Karhal and Manpur areas of Sheopur district and Kailaras town and Rathore Colony in the adjoining Morena district bordering Rajsthan.
According to Morena superintendent of police Aditya Pratap Singh, around eight to ten cases were reported in Morena alone. However, the investigations revealed that the cases were either fabricated by women or they were the handiwork of rumour mongers.
“In one of the cases, a teenage girl went to a toilet in the village and mysteriously disappeared. Remains of her braid were found lying outside the toilet, which made villagers allege that her disappearance was the handiwork of some braid chopping gang,” said Singh. However, subsequent investigations revealed that the girl had eloped with someone to Mathura in adjoining UP and and had herself chopped her braid.
In Sheopur district, nearly eight to ten cases were reported during the same period. Two to three men were arrested in the matter. “In one of the cases, a woman chopped off her hair in a bid to cover up the scuffle she had with her husband resulting in injuries, from her neighbours. The matter was treated as mysterious braid-chopping, but police investigations led us to the man and the case was cracked,” said SP Sheopur district Shiv Dayal.