A 15-year-old girl was found hanging at her home on Monday morning in what is seen as a case of witchcraft or black magic.
Chandana, a class 9 student, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at her home at Bilwaradahalli village, Anekal taluk. Her father, Vasudev, came home around 7 am after working the night shift as a security guard at Royal Meenakshi Mall. His wife left for work and two sons for college. Vasudev then went to sleep.
A while later, Vasudev woke up as his mobile phone fell from the bed. As an afterthought, he opened the door of another room and was stunned to see his daughter hanging. She was still alive, shivering and struggling to breathe.
Vasudev was numb with disbelief. He ran out to inform his wife who works in a factory about 200 metres away. The couple returned, freed Chandana from the noose and took her to hospital. But it was too late. Doctors declared her brought dead.
Witchcraft/black magic?
Police quoted neighbours as saying that they found big kumkuma (vermilion) on Chandana’s forehead though she had never applied it before. The ceiling fan is too high for Chandana to reach.
Threat note
The family found a one-page letter in Kannada that read:
“You didn’t know about the power of my mantra, Vasudev?”
“See, how I made your daughter hang herself! Do you now realise the power of my mantra?”
“You troubled me a lot. This won’t end here. Remember, you have two more children. I won’t leave them. Your son was with me, but he just escaped my clutches last week. I won’t spare him.”
“You destroyed my family. I will destroy your family. Don’t forget it.”
The letter was neither dated nor signed.
A teacher at Chandana’s school said she was good at studies. Chandana took a transfer from the government school to a private one.
She is not a girl who will commit suicide, the teacher added.
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