Scary knock of ‘Bal Katwa’ gang in Darbhanga, Bihar! Two robberies and the same scary pattern. Why are fearless criminals cutting women’s hair after robbery? Know the whole truth about this dreadful murder-like pattern.
Darbhanga: A quiet village in Darbhanga district of Bihar is living under the shadow of fear and terror these days. A gang has become active in the area, whose brutality and strange methods have not only given sleepless nights to the general public but have also surprised the police department. Here two such robberies took place one after the other, which have once again brought alive the dreadful shadow of the age-old ‘haircut’. In both these incidents, the miscreants not only committed robbery worth lakhs, but also cut the hair of the women of the house before escaping. After this strange and scary pattern, there is an atmosphere of panic in the entire area.
The sound of TV piercing the silence and that first dreadful night
This bloody and mysterious game started on July 8, when five unidentified masked miscreants forcibly entered the house of Dr. Pawan Kumar Mishra in this village under Bahadurpur police station. The intentions of the miscreants were not just for theft, but they had come up with a well-thought-out and cruel strategy. As soon as they entered the house, they took Dr. Mishra’s 22-year-old daughter-in-law Karishma Devi hostage. When she protested, the miscreants attacked Karishma, tied her hands and legs and then in a dreadful step, gave an unknown injection in her back so that she became unconscious. What happened next was like a scene from a thriller film. The miscreants turned up the volume of the TV extremely loud to hide the sound of breaking cabinets and rummaging inside the house. Amidst this silence and noise, they broke the locks of two cupboards and made away with Rs 35,000 in cash and gold and silver jewelery worth about Rs 5 lakh. But before leaving, he left behind a horrifying mark that horrified everyone – he had cut the hair of the unconscious Karishma.
Knock again after exactly a week: sleeping girl and the same dreadful result
Bahadurpur police was still connecting the links of the first incident when exactly a week later, another incident in the same village shattered the claims of the police. This time the house of local teacher Suman Kumar Chaudhary became the target of miscreants. The criminals entered the house in the same vicious manner. The people of the house were sleeping unaware. The miscreants searched the entire house and stole valuables. But the most surprising and disturbing thing remained the same in this robbery. After collecting valuables from the house, the miscreants cut the hair of an innocent girl sleeping there and escaped taking advantage of the darkness. When the family opened their eyes in the morning, the ground slipped beneath their feet after seeing scattered belongings and the girl’s chopped hair.
Superstition or deep conspiracy? Forensic and technical teams engaged in investigation
These robberies, which took place in the same village, within the same week, in two different houses, following the same pattern, have taken the rumors and fear of the so-called “Bal Katwa” gang to its peak in the Bahadurpur police station area. People are now forced to stay awake all night and keep guard. Considering the seriousness of this mysterious and scary case, the district police is on alert. Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and Technical Cell teams have been immediately sent to the spot to take the investigation forward. Teams of experts are examining fingerprints, CCTV footage and samples of the chemical/injection that was used to render the woman unconscious.
The biggest question before the police: What is the reason behind hair cutting?
The local people are most worried about the fact that why would a dacoit cut women’s hair after committing a theft? Is this some ploy to mislead the police and give the matter a superstition look? Or is there a psychopath criminal behind this gang? At present, the police is conducting a thorough investigation on all these aspects and is appealing to the villagers not to pay attention to the rumours. But until the criminals are behind the bars, the nights of this village are going to be spent in the shadow of fear.
Has the fear of ‘haircut’ returned again?
After these two incidents, discussions regarding the alleged ‘Bal Katwa Gang’ have intensified in the area. In the last few years, rumors and incidents like ‘hair cutting’ had been a topic of discussion in many parts of Bihar and North India. However, the truth behind these cases turned out to be different at times. At present the police is avoiding reaching any conclusion. Officials say that it is a matter of investigation whether hair cutting was an attempt to spread psychological fear, a strategy to hide the identity of the criminals or there was some other reason behind it.
Panic in the village, people are keeping vigil throughout the night
There is an atmosphere of fear among the people of the village after two consecutive similar incidents. Many families are taking turns keeping watch at night. A lot of fear is being seen among women and children. The villagers have demanded the police to increase patrolling at night and arrest the accused as soon as possible. At present, this case has become not only of robbery, but of a mysterious incident which has created an atmosphere of insecurity and fear in the entire area. Now everyone’s eyes are on the police investigation to find out what is the truth behind this strange pattern of ‘hair cutting’.