Officer calls sorcerer in prison for exorcism, gets notice

The Kishanganj district prison superintendent was issued a notice for allegedly inviting a sorcerer to exorcise the soul of a prisoner who had died behind the bars. Aditya Nath Jha reports.

The Kishanganj district prison superintendent was issued a notice for allegedly inviting a sorcerer to exorcise the soul of a prisoner who had died behind the bars.

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District prison superintendent Devendra Prasad had allegedly brought sorcerer Imamuddin from neighbouring West Bengal to the jail in his official vehicle to conduct an exorcism after inmates claimed that they had seen the ghost of undertrial Bishwa Nath, who had died on Tuesday.

Taking the matter seriously, district magistrate Sandip Kumar Pudkal Kutty served a show cause notice on Prasad and asked him to explain his conduct in inviting a sorcerer in the jail, official sources said on Saturday.

Further action would be taken against the jail officer on the basis of his reply to the show cause notice, they said quoting the district magistrate.

Prasad, however, refused to comment on the matter. "No, I can't say anything in this regard," he said. The sorcerer, who visited the jail on Thursday, said the prison was in the "grip of ghosts" and said the fear of inmates was not unfounded. "I have used my power to rid the jail of ghost," he said. "The name of West Bengal sorcerer was suggested by inmates and the jail superintendent agreed to bring him to the jail," sources said.