According to the "India Today" website reported on the 28th, on the 27th local time, the police in Uttar Praganj, Uttar Prabang, India, arrested 30 people who were said to have "exorcised" women in the Prayagraj area of the state.
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Police said the 30 defendants were residents of the Mahoba and Chatarpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, who held ceremonies on the banks of the Sangam River. They allegedly beat up local women and tore their hair under the pretext of "driving away the influence of evil spirits."
Police were alerted that the defendants were seen banging drum-like things in the name of "exorcisms", while tying the hands and feet of some women and beating them with ropes. After receiving the news, a police officer named Arvind Kumar Singh arrived at the scene and saw people holding ceremonies with cinnabar and lemons.
Local police tried to intervene in the "exorcism" ceremonies and demanded that the defendants stop the ceremonies, but to no avail. Subsequently, the police took them all back to the police station. The matter has been filed under the relevant Indian law and all the accused have been brought before the courts. (Editor: HHJ)