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In a bizarre incident a young woman district magistrate has accused one of her attendants a woman home guard of staging some kind of witchcraft with yellow mustard seeds in her official bungalow, with the intent of causing harm to her.
The incident came to light after Bahraich district magistrate Pinky Jowel ordered suspension of home guard Mithilesh Saini on November 15 for allegedly carrying out sorcery in her bedroom where she found a few mustard seeds littered.
Mithilesh's commandant has been served a notice asking her to show cause why she should not be removed from service for carrying out witchcraft in the DM's official residence.
Besides getting a formal charge-sheet issued to the low-paid home guard, Jowel went to the extent of getting a Hindu priest to perform a 'yagya' in her bedroom to ward off the suspected evil effects of the alleged witchcraft.
Ram Darshan Misra, the priest who performed the 'yagya' confirmed over telephone from Bahraich, "Well, I did perform a 'puja' cum 'yagya' to ensure that the district magistrate remained safe from all evil effects of whatever witchcraft was carried out in her official residence."
The incident has also exposed the blatant misuse of home guards, who in this case was not only made to do daily chores like a domestic servant, but was even compelled to sweep and mop the floors in the bungalow and also clean the toilet and wash her child's potty.
"Not just me, the other half dozen home guards posted in the DM's residence too were forced to carry out all odd jobs," Mithilesh told reporters in Bahraich.
Mithilesh flatly denying that she had carried out any kind of sorcery in the DM's house.
"The charge against me is baseless and false, I did nothing. Just because she found a few mustard seeds on her bed she blasted me and charged me of carrying out witchcraft. The fact is, I neither believe in witchcraft nor have any clue about anything of that sort," said Mithilesh.
While she remained inaccessible over the phone, a visibly annoyed Jowel told a TV channel in Bahraich, "You all don't know how to deal with a district magistrate. If I performed a 'puja' in my house, it is a personal matter. I've no comments on the home guard's statement."