J&K court convicts 'faith healer' of committing unnatural offences with children

After nine years of trial, a court in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday convicted a ‘faith healer’ for sexually abusing minors who used to visit him for religious lessons.

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sopore, Mir Wajahat issued the order of conviction against Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh on charges under section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).

An FIR was filed against Sheikh in 2016 and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the allegations of sexual abuse against multiple victims.

During the case, the prosecution asserted that the accused “manipulated minor victims by instilling fear of supernatural harm to coerce them into repeated unnatural sexual act”.

It said the victims, all minors, were “systematically exploited under the “guise of religious counselling and faith healing.”

The prosecution also stated that the “abuse occurred over a span of multiple years, with the accused ensuring the victims silence through threats of divine retribution.”

The court in its judgment said, “In light of the compelling, reliable, and legally admissible evidence presented by the prosecution, this court holds that the accused is guilty of committing unnatural offences punishable under section 377 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).”

“Prosecution has established all ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt, warranting conviction,” the court said.

“The defence has failed to create any substantial doubt that would merit an acquittal,” it added.

The judgement contains a poem “Whispers of Faith, Echoes of Fear”, penned by the judge.

It reads: “He stood adorned in robes of light, a shepherd sworn to guide the night… With whispered prayers and sacred hands, he sowed the faith in shifting sands… A child approached with eyes so wide, seeking solace, safe inside… But shadows stretched behind the glow, where whispered words turned cold as snow.…”

“Fear the Jinn, but trust in me, I hold the key, I set you free… Yet chains were forged in holy guise, where trust was lost in silent cries. A touch, a word, a hollow stare, the scent of faith laced with despair.”

“A promise spun in webs unseen, a nightmare veiled in what had been. Years will pass, the wounds remain, the echoes whisper through the pain.”

“For what was torn can’t just repair, soul once bound floats in the air… But truth will rise, the stars will call, no shadow stands where justice falls.”

“And though the scars may never fade, the dawn will break—unafraid.”