Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Wajahat Mir of Sopore in Baramullah district has sentenced a fake Islamic faith healer Maulvi Aijaz Sheikh called reverentially as “Pir Sahib’’ to 14 years of rigorous jail term for sodomising two minor boys many times. The CJM awarded seven-year jail term for offences committed against each of the victim and two consecutive jail totalled 14 years. He also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh for the sexual abuse of the minor children and asked the fake Maulvi to give Rs 45,000 each to the two victims.
It is likely that more FIRs would be registered against the fake faith healer as more victims open up about the ordeal which they had gone through. Incidentally, there are more cases against the fake faith healer pending in the court who is already in jail.
Aijaz’s downfall started nine years ago when a man met senior police officers in Sopore tehsil of Baramullah and complained about him. The distraught father said that Maulvi Aijaz Sheikh alias Pir Sahib had sodomised his minor son, a student of tenth class, repeatedly over the years. The fake Islamic faith healer had promised to improve the focus of the child, helping him in his studies and get through matriculation examination with flying colours. Aijaz claimed that he had extraordinary spiritual powers through which he could command Jinns (spirits) to perform desired tasks.
The man told the officers that the fake Pir Sahib may have done such acts to some others also as he had a mass following. The fake faith healer claimed that he could talk to Jinns (spirits), command them and cure those possessed by different types of Jinns. The only condition was that the young boys who were facing problems of any type had to be left overnight to stay with Maulvi Saheb at his residence. To gain control over the gullible children, Aijaz Sheikh would give them taveez (amulets) which he claimed to have snatched away from Jinns.
To gain the trust of the children and lure them to visit him repeatedly, sometimes Aijaz gave money to young boys claiming this was reward from the Jinns for the good deeds. Once the children had visited him a couple of times, Aijaz would ask parents to leave the young ones overnight at his residence. The fake faith healer claimed that he could talk to Jinns and exercise control over them much better at night. Then started the ordeal of the young minors as young as 12 whom the parents would leave with fake Pir Sahib.
In the dark of night, Aijaz recited some aayats from the hold Quran to begin with which some of the boys could identify as something they had heard before too. As the next step, Aijaz would recite some mumbo jumbo as special aayats meant to invite Jinns to converse with him. He would warn the young boys that Jinns would enter his body and he would be possessed by them. Once he had thus terrified his would-be victim in this manner, Aijaz will then proceed to force himself on the victim of the day.
The fake faith healer used to put his left hand firmly over the mouth of the victim while doing unnatural sexual act so that he could not scream even if he wanted to in pain and agony. Aijaz used to tell his victims that it was a Jinn that had entered his body and there was a fight going on between the Jinns. The fake Maulvi also claimed that the imaginary Jinn in the bodies of the victims was subdued by the Jinns at his command.
This cycle of absolute hold over the minor boys whom Aijaz used to abuse continued for years altogether. One victim said he was a chubby child studying in fifth class when the faith healer first hugged him tightly and bit on his cheeks.
One boy was abused in this manner and subjected to repeated rapes for almost three years. At this juncture, his father said that he would send the younger brother also to Maulvi Sahib over the next few days. Fearing for the terrible fate his younger brother would likely meet at the hands of the fake Maulvi, the boy told his father about the terrible times and repeated rapes he was going through. This led to the initiation of the first complaint against the fake faith healer who used to recite Quranic verses and other Islamic texts freely to impress those who flocked to him for healing.
In his order, the CJM wrote: In view of compelling evidence presented by the prosecution, this Court holds that the accused is guilty of committing unnatural offences punishable under Section 377 RPC (Ranbir Penal Code) effecting the body, mind and soul of PW8 (read Prosecution Witness) and PW3. He further wrote: The accused subjected PW8 and PW3 to unnatural sexual intercourse during their minority, exploiting their vulnerability under the guise of offering blessings.
