UP cops: From animal chasers to ghostbusters

The travails of Uttar Pradesh police never seem to end. After suffering the humiliation of hunting buffaloes and hens belonging to some highly-connected individuals, the beleaguered police force has been given the unenviable task of hunting an alleged chudail (evil spirit of a woman) that is terrorising Sangam’s residents.

It all began after the mysterious death of a youth, who allegedly died after being “attacked” by the chudail.Report of the alleged attack spread like wildfire, ironically through the social media. Such was the hysteria surrounding the incident that panic-stricken residents stopped going to that particular area at night.

According to reports, some youth in a car saw a woman in a white sari asking for a lift near the Sant Nirankari crossing under Kydganj Police Station in May.They gave the woman a lift, but later one of the three youths died under mysterious circumstance in a hospital after doctors failed to ascertain the reason for his death.

Thereafter, several people allegedly “saw” the churail and this created a scare in the area and people started talking about the presence of the evil spirit.

Word spread quickly through WhatsApp and was even supported by “concrete evidence,” in this case a video shot by a braveheart to support claims of the evil spirit’s presence. One such WhatsApp message reads: “In late night hours a churail could be seen roaming near the Bairahna, Sant Nirankari railway crossing. She asks for a lift from four or two wheeler drivers. Once she is given the lift, she suddenly disappears from the vehicle and the driver falls seriously ill.”

According to the message a person died after giving lift to the churail and warns people to avoid that area at night.Thankfully, not one to scare easy, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) KS Emmanuel has ordered patrolling in the area and has directed the Kydganj Police to find the rumour-mongers. After the SSP’s directive, police have intensified patrolling in the area but people are still afraid of passing through that particular road at night.

The SSP, however, termed this a hoax and issued an appeal to the people not to heed such rumours. He has requested them to report the matter directly to him if something of that sort happens to them.

local ward councilor Ganesh Kesharwani also said that several people have informed him about the woman in a white sari but added that at present there is no proof about the existence of the churail.last year, Rampur Police was forced to go in search of stolen buffaloes of UP Minister Mohammad Azam Khan and this year they probed the theft of seven buffaloes belonging to BJP MlA from Aonla, in Bareilly. Recently, the Government ordered Rampur Police to search for the missing hens of a Samajwadi Party leader.