Women lynched, assaulted in UP as braid-cutting scare spreads

At least two women were allegedly assaulted and another was lynched by a mob as the 'braid cutting' scare spread to various districts across Uttar Pradesh prompting the authorities to put the cops on the alert and take immediate steps to quell the rumours.
 
According to the police sources here on Thursday two cases of assaulting the women, who were branded as ''witches'', who cut braids of the women folks, had been reported from the state since Wednesday night.
 
An old woman, identified as Maan Devi, a resident of Mutnai village in Agra district, had allegedly been lynched by a mob at the village. The villagers alleged that the old dalit woman had cut the braids of some women. A case was registered in this connection and some people were also detained.
 
A woman was allegedly assaulted in Khair town in Aligarh district after being branded as a ''witch''. She was rescued by the police, sources said.
 
Police said that alleged incidents of braid cutting had been reported from Bareilly, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bareilly, Budaon, Aligarh and Gorakhpur districts.
 
Police officials said that directives had been issued to the local authorities to take immediate measures to quell the rumours. ''There is no truth in these incidents....they are essentially the results of rumours,'' said a senior police official in the state capital.
 
In Gorakhpur, a 'tantrik' (exorcist) was arrested on charges of ''forcing'' a teen to cut her braid. The teen had cut her braid after the 'tantrik' said that it would cure her of her illness, the police said.