Man bathes in funeral pyre ashes to have a child:Paraded with garland of slippers in Datia, says baba advised him; family faces social boycott

A shocking case of superstition, social cruelty, and mob mentality has emerged in the Jhirkabagh area of Datia. Here, a person bathed with the ashes of a pyre at the cremation ground and took the skull and bones of the deceased home in a polythene bag. After the incident came to light, angry people publicly humiliated that person, paraded him around the neighborhood wearing a garland of slippers, and socially boycotted the entire family. It was decided that if any member of society maintains relations with Balli or his family, or calls them, they will have to pay a fine of Rs 5,100. How the whole matter started
Moolchand Kushwaha (72), a resident of Jhirkabagh, passed away on January 14 due to illness. In the evening, his last rites were performed according to traditional customs. During this time, Balli Kushwah (40), who lived in the neighborhood, was also present at the cremation ground. Around 11 PM late at night, Balli returned to the cremation ground, and from there, the incident took a horrifying turn. Bathed in ashes, took away skull and bones
It is alleged that Balli scattered the burning pyre’s wood, spread the ashes, and bathed in those very ashes. After this, he picked up the skull and some bones of the deceased Moolchand, put them in a polythene bag, and took them home. He stayed in the room with those bones all night. The next morning, when the family members reached the cremation ground for bone immersion, they found the ashes scattered and the skull missing. Shawl revealed secret, bones found at home
During the search, a shawl was found at the cremation ground, which was identified as Balli’s. Suspecting foul play, Councillor Kallu Kushwah was informed. Balli was called from his home, where he was found covered in ash. During interrogation, he confessed to the incident. Police, upon receiving the information, took him to the station and recovered bones kept in a polythene bag from his house. Mob’s wrath: Garland of slippers, accused of feeding mud
Balli’s nephew, Rajkumar Kushwah, alleged that enraged people subjected Balli to inhumane treatment. He was beaten, accused of being forced to eat and drink gutter mud and filth, and paraded through the entire neighborhood wearing a garland of slippers. After this, the community’s panchayat prepared a ‘panchnama’ (a formal document) and excommunicated Balli and his entire family from the community. It was decided that if any person maintained relations with Balli or his family, or invited them to their home, they would be fined 5,100 rupees. Superstition in the desire for offspring
According to family members, Balli was married about 20 years ago, but had no children. Two children from his second marriage died. His second wife also left him. The family says that he is addicted to alcohol and suffers from mental stress. Allegedly, on the advice of some ‘Baba’ (holy man), he bathed with cremation ashes in the hope of having children. Rolled in ashes for children
The deceased’s brother Maniram Kushwah said – When we asked Balli why he did this, he said – I am not having children. A Janwa (Baba/saint) told me that if I roll in the ashes at the cremation ground, I will have children. After that, he committed such an act. We called people. We took him to the police. They also stopped us from getting our hair cut
The family says that all of us community members were getting our hair cut. During this, Balli’s family came and told us to move from there, saying – the land is ours. Without saying anything, we went to the road and got our hair cut. Balli’s mother hurled abuses. There was a death in our family, so we all remained silent. Angered by this incident, the elders of the Kushwaha community immediately called a panchayat (village council meeting). A written resolution (panchnama) was prepared, and the accused and his family were ostracized from the community. It was decided that if any member of the community maintains relations with Balli or his family, or invites them, they will have to pay a fine of 5,100 rupees. Several senior members of the community signed the panchnama. Investigating the allegations Datia SDOP Akanksha Jain says that this case is from the Civil Line area. On Wednesday, a person tampered with bones and ashes. The deceased’s family caught that person and brought him to the police station. Preventive action was taken against him. The matter of making him wear a garland of slippers and feeding him dirt, including mud, had not yet come to light.