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Two more in Gurgaon claim their braids were chopped

Several cases of mysterious braid chopping have been reported recently in from Rewari, Mahendergarh and Mewat.

Published on: Aug 1, 2017, 23:17:00 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Gurgaon
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Seven cases of mysterious chopping of braids in the city over the past four days have fuelled superstitions and rumour-mongering in old Gurgaon. Parents have asked children to stay indoors and families have started sleeping in one room.

A woman shows her daughter’s braids that were allegedly chopped on Monday night in Ravi Nagar, Gurgaon. (Parveen Kumar/ht photo)
A woman shows her daughter’s braids that were allegedly chopped on Monday night in Ravi Nagar, Gurgaon. (Parveen Kumar/ht photo)

Parents in old Gurgaon’s sector 4, 5 and 7 have asked daughters to stay indoors at all times and have kept their doors and balcony closed.

On Tuesday, too, a 13-year-old girl claimed that someone allegedly tried to cut off her hair while she was asleep.

Police, quoting the girl, said she sleeping with her brother and her parents when she heard a noise of a scissors and woke up. Her mother immediately switched on the lights and found her daughter shivering.

“My daughter told me she felt someone pressing her head and moving a scissors through her hair. I found her pony tail lying on the bed and I woke up my husband,” the mother of girl said.

However, the police officer who visited the spot said the family members refused to lodge a complaint. “There was no sign of anyone entering the house. When we asked the family to give us a sample of the hair, they refused. They did not want us to investigate further,” said Inspector Babu Lal, station house officer, New Colony police station.

In another incident, a 45-year-old woman, Kamlesh Saini of New Bagdi Colony, Sector 5, said her hair too was cut mysteriously while she was sleeping on Monday night.

She told police that around 2:30am, she spotted a “black cat”, which within seconds took the shape of a man who cut her braids. She tried to raise the alarm but could not and saw the braids hanging on the electric meter in the room.

“I got scared and opened the door, my husband was sleeping in the adjacent room. I woke him up and told him about the incident. I fell unconscious and then my husband and neighbours rushed me to the Civil hospital,” Saini claimed.

Meanwhile, the police crime cell teams and Sector 5 police teams visited the spot and conducted investigations.

“The lane where the house is located is very narrow. No outsider will dare to enter someone’s house. The room has no adjacent balconies and is surrounded by houses on all four sides. There are no possibilities of any person entering,” said inspector Jitender Rana, SHO, Sector 5 police station.

Several cases of mysterious braid chopping have been reported recently in from Rewari, Mahendergarh and Mewat.

  • Leena Dhankhar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Leena Dhankhar

    Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More