KOZHIKODE/KOLLAM:Apart from superstition and financial fraud, sorcery has a diabolic side. It involves brutal torture for days which the clients are willing to endure either for themselves or for their near ones who require a ‘magical cure.’
The death of a young mother named Haseena, 26, a week ago in Kollam owing to injuries caused by sorcerer Sirajuddin is the best example. Haseena was tortured in the name of exorcism for weeks at Thazhava near Karunagappally. Her father, an uneducated NRI was ready to offer `5 lakh for the quick solution to his daughter’s mental illness. Sirajuddin used to begin his rituals by midnight and the torture starts by making the lady lie flat on the hall of her house. To cure the mental illness the ‘sidhan’ used to beat her and the autopsy revealed a broken spinal cord and severe internal bleeding. Her body was weakened with limited food for several weeks and the rituals including ‘magic spells’ and physical torture were observed during the last two weeks. She used to resist during the first few days, but later she was weakened by the torture and lack of proper food, said the police. The process of exorcising ghosts from an allegedly possessed person is even cruel.
“The ‘patient’ is asked to sit in a room with an eerie setting. Sometimes, his or her hands would be tied. Mantras will be recited for hours in front of her. Even a normal person would become restive. Once the patient begins to show uneasiness, the ‘divine priest’ would ask questions and begin to beat on the patient’s body with a cane continuously until he or she faints. Sometimes, the ‘treatment’ continues for weeks,” said an activist of a Mujahid group, preferring anonymity.