Arrest and charges

Police in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, have arrested a self-styled Aghori, Kali alias Nand Giri, in connection with a video that showed her allegedly eating burnt flesh from a funeral pyre. The arrest was made on Tuesday, according to a report by The Times of India, which said the accused was taken into custody for trespassing on burial places and disturbing funeral services at the Chakratirth cremation ground, which falls under Ujjain Municipal Corporation limits.

A complaint was lodged with Jeevajiganj police by the Senapati Kaal Bhairav Committee, following which Kali alias Nand Giri was booked under Section 301 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with trespassing on burial places and offering indignity to human remains, and under the Arms Act. The Times of India reported that the accused claims to be a Mahamandaleshwar of Kinnar Akhara.

Police station in-charge Prateek Sharma said the accused had shared the clip from her social media account and that it came to his notice after it went viral. City Superintendent of Police Pushpa Prajapati said the accused was produced before a first-class judicial magistrate after her arrest, as reported by Free Press Journal.

The video

The incident came to light after a video, which surfaced on Monday, showed the woman performing what appeared to be tantric rituals near burning funeral pyres at the Chakratirth cremation ground, according to Free Press Journal. In the footage, she is seen covered in ash and wearing black clothes while moving around the cremation ground. She allegedly searches through the remains of a burning pyre using a sword and takes out burnt flesh, which she then appears to eat while claiming it is human flesh.

In the video, she is heard saying in Hindi: "Dekho mai abhi insaan ko khayenge… Ye dekho garam-garam hai, abhi nikala. Bohot tasty hai" ("Look, I will now eat a human… See, this is hot, I just took it out. Very tasty"). She also allegedly claims that she had killed several tantriks and warns people to stay away from her. The woman is further heard describing activities such as applying ash and playing with human skulls as part of her life, and towards the end of the video, she can be heard chanting a mantra linked to the cremation ground, the report added.

The video was widely shared on Instagram on Monday, according to The Times of India. Free Press Journal reported that it spread quickly across social media, leaving viewers shocked and frightened.

Police have said further investigation is underway to verify the claims made in the video and establish the circumstances in which it was recorded, as reported by Free Press Journal.

Condemnation

Mahamandaleshwar Shaileshanand Giri of the Juna Akhara condemned the incident, saying such acts could not be tolerated in a civilised society, according to a report by The Times of India.