AHMEDABAD: A case from Gujarat has once again highlighted the grip of superstition and blind faith, with a widow alleging that occult practices governed key decisions in her marital home, even as her husband battled cancer.
The woman, a Rajkot resident who married into a family in Dhoraji in 2014, has accused her in-laws of subjecting her to humiliating rituals and branding her inauspicious under the influence of a local Bhuva, a self-proclaimed spiritual healer believed by his followers to possess supernatural powers.
According to her complaint, her husband had been suffering from colon cancer for several years. During his illness, the family allegedly mortgaged her jewellery to raise nearly Rs 15 lakh and also borrowed money from her relatives. However, she claims that alongside medical treatment, the family increasingly relied on superstitious practices.
"My mother-in-law had complete faith in the Bhuva. Whatever he said became the rule in the house. Instead of depending only on proper treatment, we were pushed towards blind faith and rituals," the woman alleged.
She claimed that the Bhuva made both her and her husband participate in various ceremonies and even forced them to bathe in cold water during winter as part of spiritual practices.
"We were made to follow whatever the Bhuva instructed. I believe this obsession with superstition took over our lives," she said.
The woman's ordeal allegedly intensified after her husband died in November 2025.
"Just three days after his death, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law forcibly shaved my head and cut my hair, saying it was necessary for peace and religious customs. I protested, but they did not listen. When I tried to contact my father, they took away my phone," she alleged.
She said she had opposed such beliefs from the beginning because she had never witnessed such customs in her own family or community.
"I have always spoken against these practices. No woman should be forced to suffer in the name of superstition. My only wish is that no other sister or daughter has to face what I went through," she said.
The complaint further alleges that after the rituals, her in-laws branded her "inauspicious" and threw her out of the house along with her two children, leaving her with no option but to return to her parents' home in Rajkot.
An FIR registered at the Mahila Police Station names her mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law, who are residents of Jetpur.
The victim's father said the family had approached the police months earlier, but efforts were made to settle the dispute.
"We had gone to file a complaint, but both sides were called for discussions. No settlement was reached. We want justice for my daughter and support for her innocent children," he said.
The case has once again highlighted concerns over the persistence of superstition and the alleged exploitation of vulnerable individuals in its name. Police are now investigating charges related to forced rituals, harassment and the alleged expulsion of the widow and her children from their matrimonial home.