‘Exorcist’ held for raping child

Kashi Baba had said he would ‘free her from evil spirits’.

FAISALABAD:

An ‘exorcist’ arrested on charge of child rape has been sent to prison on judicial remand.

Muhammad Babar, an uncle of the child, said his niece, 15, had fallen ill a few weeks ago. He said her parents took her to Pir Kashif Ali Shah alias Kashi Baba who told them that she was possessed by evil spirits and must be treated in one-on-one sessions with the ‘healer’. The family alleged that the girl was raped repeatedly in the sessions over a period of two weeks.

Babar said Kashi Baba then proposed marriage, telling her parents that the evil spirits would not leave the girl and that he was her only saviour.

Babar said at this stage, the girl told her parents that she had been raped several times.

The next day, he arrived dressed as a bridegroom and pressed her parents to agree to the marriage. Meanwhile, some neighbours called the police. Kamalia Station House Officer Rauf Ahmad rushed to the scene and took Kashi Baba into custody. Athar Hussain, a resident of Gulbahar Colony, said, “He hurled threats at us and said he was very powerful.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2013.