Spirit stalks women, town fleshes out tales

The Entity seems to have come to Vatva. At least that’s what residents of Saiyedwadi believe. They are living in mortal fear of a &#145...

The Entity seems to have come to Vatva. At least that’s what residents of Saiyedwadi believe. They are living in mortal fear of a ‘‘ghost’’ that has been ‘‘sexually assaulting’’ women for the past 15 days.

Women here have stopped stepping out of their homes at night, while men have started night patrols to ‘‘keep the ghost away’’.

Saiyedwadi is a small locality comprising lower-middle and middle-class families. And the rumours have spread like wildfire. Be it an old man or a three-year-old — everyone can tell you about this ‘‘ghost that rapes women’’.

‘‘I have not seen him but I know what he looks like. He’s tall, about six-and-half feet, has shoulder-length hair, a marked face. He wears black shorts and knee-length shoes. His shoes have springs, which help him jump over terraces,’’ says Jahagir Khan, a resident.

The others — who have not seen the ‘‘ghost’’ — agree with the description. Many add to it. Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Rayeez says: ‘‘He carries a sharp-edged weapon, probably a dagger with him. He spends the day on a tree and comes out only at night.’’

Mohammad, who works as a mechanic at Narol, says the ‘‘ghost’’ raped three women at Narol on Thursday night.

Shaheedabanu Yusufbhai agrees. ‘‘Two days ago, he raped a women in the next lane and warned another that she would be next,’’ she says.

	It’s mass hysteria, explain experts

	• Psychiatrists say what’s ailing Vatva is mass hysteria that affects members of a closed community. Dr Darshan Shah says that since members of a closed community are brought up in a similar way, they ‘‘all start believing something unreal and behave accordingly’’. He cites the example of Jones Town, where 1,000 people committed suicide thinking that the world was coming to an end. Shah adds that an evil male spirit that supposedly has sex with a sleeping woman is called an incubus — a term derived from myths. — ENS Story continues below this ad

However, which lane and which woman, no one can tell you.

‘‘I don’t know who exactly. But how can you expect a woman to come forward and say that she was molested,’’ says Shaheedabanu, a housewife who no longer steps out of her house at night like most women of the area.

There are other stories, about the ‘‘ghost’’ hanging from a tree branch, slapping a child, stopping a woman on her way home and so on. But the fear is apparent. The men of the area — armed with sticks and pipes — can be seen guarding their localities.

Police have posted two constables in the area. ‘‘All these are baseless rumours. No one has seen any thing for the past two days. So, we plan to withdraw the constables,’’ says Vatva police inspector B.I. Patel.