Gey villagers hide mummy to ‘avoid calamity’

“The mummy has been kept out of bounds for everyone till July 31,according to a unanimous decision of the village. This was done on the ‘orders of the local deity’ that has warned of natural calamity if anyone sees it,” said Geu village head Cherring Tundup.

The police had visited Geu earlier last week after the news spread about the mummy going missing. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Jitender Sanjta said: “I had gone to the village with the police to ensure that the mummy was safe,but the villagers did not let us go to the old temple where it has been kept now. The villagers,oracles and priests of Geu have declared that a look at the mummy can cause natural calamity in the region so it should be kept out of sight in a safe place till July 31.”

He added: “In order to respect the sentiments of the people,we cannot intervene and will have to wait till July 31,when they bring it back to the new temple.” The villagers have been resisting any police intervention in the case.

Tundup said: “The talk of theft of the mummy is just a rumour,which spread after the oracle of the local deity declared on July 6 during a special ceremony that an attempt was made on the night of July 5 to steal the mummy. Our deity had said the mummy was under threat and some people from far-off land had come to take it away,but they failed due to special powers of the mummy.”