By Suhail Khan

Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir: "This is the moment where I feel reborn. Justice has been delivered," said Sajad, who was sexually abused by a fake faith healer when he was just eight. On February 18, 2025, a court in Sopore, Baramulla district, sentenced Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh (45), a self-styled faith healer from Mundji village in Sopore, to 14 years of imprisonment and one lakh fine for raping minor boys.

"The fake healer took advantage of me under the guise of driving away evil. I was too young to understand, but that trauma stayed with me. Even now, at 33, the pain and fear haunt me. No child should ever suffer what I went through," Sajad said, about the incident that happened in 2000.

Sheikh claimed that he had the ability to communicate with jinn (evil spirit) and heal people suffering from taweez-related issues (spiritual afflictions). He gained the trust of families as a Quran teacher before preying on boys. “He would choose children, first by showing love and care, and later by using fear and manipulation,” Sajad recalled. 

“Sheikh told families that a child below 12 years of age should spend a night with him to check for spiritual issues. That is how he trapped us. People believed him blindly,” Sajad said.

“In my school alone, there were at least 16 victims. Many of them are still in touch with me, but social stigma keeps them silent. They do not even share the trauma with their families and feel ashamed. They tell me, ‘You have taken a step to fight and we were hopeful of justice’,” he said. “I complained in 2016, but it was hard to speak at that age,” he added. 

“I personally know at least 40 victims of different age groups. Only a few of us have spoken out. The rest are afraid — of society, of losing their families’ support, of being blamed,” Uzair* (28) told 101Reporters. His uncle had taken him to Sheikh at the age of 12 in the year 2000 for spiritual healing, but here too the complaint was made in 2016.

“When I arrived at his place, I saw many children there. However, when he sexually abused me, I immediately told my family. At that age, it was difficult to explain what had happened, but my father understood and filed a complaint,” he said.

For many victims, the idea of speaking out was terrifying. Sheikh used threats and psychological manipulation to keep them silent.  The deep-rooted trust in faith healers made Sheikh’s crimes even harder to expose.

“In Kashmir, people trust too easily. He convinced parents that he had supernatural powers and could solve their problems. But he was nothing more than a predator hiding behind religion,” another survivor said.

The nine-year wait

Mirza Zahid Khalil, Senior Public Prosecutor, Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Sopore, told 101Reporters that the case was registered at the Bomai Police Station in 2016, bearing FIR number 22/2016 under Section 377 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The RPC was the main criminal code of Jammu and Kashmir before the abrogation of Article 370. The challan was presented in court in 2017, and Khalil was appointed the same year.

Khalil explained that although the victims were young and afraid to speak up, one of them eventually confided in his father in 2016. The father then approached the police and filed a complaint with the senior superintendent of police. It was subsequently forwarded to the station house officer of the police station concerned. The complaint alleged that Sheikh had sexually exploited several children and later intimidated them saying that he would harm them through peer fakiri (a form of spiritual harm) if they informed their families.

After registering a First Information Report, the police constituted a Special Investigation Team headed by the then sub-divisional police officer, Ashish Mishra. During the investigation, the police recorded statements from witnesses under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and collected other evidence. Subsequently, the prosecution filed a challan in court under Section 173 of CrPC.

The prosecutor then presented witnesses in the court, including victims, and provided collaborative evidence. The defence presented six witnesses, who were cross-examined by the prosecution.

“Social stigma prevented the victims from coming forward as a group. However, when an individual like Sajad stepped forward to testify in order to protect others, the rest of the victims gathered courage to come forward… A total of 14 witnesses were examined, including 12 who testified in court,” said Khalil.  

After examining both prosecution and defence witnesses, the court reached the stage of final arguments. The judge heard arguments from both sides and examined the evidence. By then, it was almost nine years since the complaint was lodged.

“The prolonged legal process was largely due to the uncertain situation in Kashmir. The aftermath of Burhan Wani's killing in 2016, abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to delays,” said Advocate Ayesha Zahgeer, who represented Sajad and Uzair.  

“Additionally, the accused being a religious preacher with significant local support made legal proceedings even more challenging. Any police action risked sparking law and order issues, and the victims, fearing social stigma, were hesitant to come forward. Despite these obstacles, justice has finally been served,” she added.

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Verdict brings a sense of relief

After hearing both parties, Chief Judicial Magistrate Mir Wajahat sentenced the accused to 14 years of imprisonment. 

The order, a copy of which is present with 101Reporters, reads: “In exercise of its powers under Sections 29 and 31 of the CrPC, this court sentences the accused, Ajaz Ahmad Sheikh, as follows:

1. Under Section 377 RPC (Offence against PW3 (prosecution witness 3): The accused is sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000.

2. Default sentence for non-payment of fine: If the accused fails to pay the fine, he shall undergo six months of simple imprisonment for each default.

3. Consecutive sentencing: The sentences shall run consecutively, meaning the accused shall serve a total of 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

4. Therefore, out of the fine of Rs 50,000 imposed on the convicted for PW8 and PW3, Rs 5,000 each shall be deposited as fine in due course, and Rs 45,000 each shall be paid as compensation to PW8 and PW3.

The order also said that the victims can still file civil lawsuits or seek other legal remedies.

Advocate Nyla Noor, a member of the prosecution team, told 101Reporters that the case was very challenging, especially for the victims. "We should appreciate and acknowledge that they came forward despite the stigma and fear that exist in society. This is a significant case for the legal system. Throughout those nine long years, the victims remained truthful in their testimonies," she said.

An investigating officer in the case, who wished to remain unnamed, told 101Reporters that he used his sources from law enforcement agencies, local preachers and influential people in the area to gather details, which ultimately led to the incident being uncovered. “By assuring secrecy and providing careful support, we could connect with more victims. Local community helped the administration to handle the situation amicably. Otherwise, dealing with a religious preacher in the volatile region of Kashmir would have been extremely challenging,” he said.

A social activist and psychologist working on child sexual abuse cases, Ashiq Hussain Ziki of Sopore told 101Reporters that in 2014, one of the victims approached him about the fake faith healer who is now convicted. However, due to insufficient evidence, law enforcement agencies could not act swiftly at that time. The victim was already an adult by then. "I counselled them and encouraged them to come forward with their case. As time passed, another victim came forward, demonstrating immense courage despite societal pressure surrounding discussions of abuse."

Noting that this is not a one-off incident, Ziki said he plans to file a Right to Information application regarding the number of similar cases registered in police stations of Kashmir region. 

Media plays a role

Qazi Zaid, the Editor-in-Chief of Free Press Kashmir, told 101Reporters that during an in-house session, the mental health expert conducting the programme spoke about her session with survivors of abuse. 

"I was surprised at what I was hearing and asked her to connect me with the survivors if they consent. I found that they were more than willing to speak and wanted to vent their feelings out. In fact, it was them who had asked the mental health expert if she could connect them with an ethical media organisation, because they have had very bad experiences with some other reporter," Zaid detailed.

Zaid added that since this was a very sensitive topic, they had multiple sessions to check the facts, and it eventually came out as a news story in 2017. 

"During the coverage, me and my team were threatened, attacked and followed at the house of the fake faith healer when we had gone there to take his version of the story. His followers had surrounded the house, carrying agricultural tools as weapons. We barely escaped," Zaid said, adding that the survivors also got repeated threats for approaching the media.

Hailing the verdict, Zaid said some officers in the Jammu and Kashmir Police played a very positive role. “I do not have the consent to name them, but one of the officers raided the convict's house and even rescued young boys from there. The police did their job, the court took a lot of time when it should not have.” 

"I think now that the conviction is finally here, we must ask tough questions as to how did we as a society let this happen and how did we as members of a responsible media play our role in highlighting it. There was absolutely no coverage of this issue. None at all. We felt like we were publishing in a void," Zaid added. 

Justice delayed is justice denied, but victims believe that justice has been delivered in the case. “We do not expect more than this. It is a massive win for all of us,” said Sajad.

Names changed to protect identity

[101Reporters/VP]

This article is republished from 101Reporters under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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