‘Voodoo’: Remains missing from grave

“Such incidents cannot take place without the involvement of the grave diggers,” a resident.

FAISALABAD:

Panic spread in Batala Colony on Tuesday after some people found bodies and coffins missing from graves in Siddiqa graveyard.

Police said that a resident Batala Colony, Abdul Majeed, had gone to offer prayers at his father’s grave and found the grave had been dug up and some bones were lying near it. He said his father’s shroud was missing. He rushed to inform the police, who cordoned off the graveyard and searched other graves for similar signs.

Residents of the area gathered around the graveyard. Some accused grave diggers of being careless and others accused them of theft. They said the remains of the dead were often used for black magic. Adeel, a resident of the locality, said this was not the first time graves had been found dug or the remains of the dead missing.

Zaheer, another resident of the area, said that the body of a newborn was found missing from its grave in Mali Pur graveyard a few months ago. He said police had not found the culprits. “Such incidents cannot take place without the involvement of the grave diggers,” he said. SHO Furkah Waheed, told The Express Tribune that an investigation had been initiated.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2012.