The sound of wedding rings can be heard throughout the senior High Court building in Kolkata, believed to be the spirit of a woman who still seeks justice in the afterlife.
Kolkata is home to the impressive Calcutta High Court building, decorated in red colonial colors. While during the day it serves as a symbol of justice and legal proceedings, at night a multitude of whispering ghostly apparitions and eerie phenomena haunt its halls.
The building was constructed in 1872, ten years after the court itself was established. The Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court in India. Among the most chilling stories is that of the ghosts of convicts, their restless souls within the walls of the courthouse, and the tale of the ghost of a woman wearing ankle bracelets looms larger than the rest.
Calcutta High Court 'The Headless Woman Haunts'.
None of these tormented spirits is more feared than the ghost of the condemned man who meets his fate on the gallows. Legend has it that her execution was a spectacle witnessed by dozens of spectators. In death, her presence remains, and her restless spirit haunts the courtroom where his fate was sealed.
Witnesses who venture to the Calcutta High Court after gloomy tell of terrifying encounters with the ghost of a convict. Most of the stories come from people who have worked in the courthouse for years. Some claim to have heard his disembodied screams echoing in the empty halls, while others swear they have seen his ghostly figure lurking in the shadows.
Perhaps most noticeable is the sound of her footsteps, as you can hear the sound of her anklets as she walks through the halls. When they see her, however, they see that her head is missing.
There is one story told by two people who worked at the court, Manamohan and Vajahari Paitandi. It was a winter night and they worked later than everyone else. Manamohan went to the toilet, which was at the end of a long and gloomy corridor. That's when he heard the sound of anklets.
When Vajahari went to look for his college, he found him lying on the floor. The woman sat next to him and tried to wake him up by throwing water in his face. It was a headless ghost that simply disappeared as Vajahari came closer. He managed to wake him up and together they escaped from the place.
A prostitute seeking justice
But who was this woman who haunted the halls without a head? If the stories are to be believed, she was a prostitute named Nistar Raut. She wanted to start over and remove her name from the list of registered prostitutes.
She fell in love with Shalikhram, a diamond trading businessman, and wanted to marry him. However, the judges of the court did not like this because she was a pretty woman. They didn't want to lose access to her, and the men tried to dissuade her. But she refused and they turned their eyes to Shalikhram.
He also did not want to listen to them and one of her former clients, a very influential man, accused the couple of robbery and was arrested in 1881.
What really happened next is a bit of a mystery. Police found Nistar's body several days later in her lover's garden with her head severed. She was wearing nothing but ankle bracelets.
It is said that after this event, her spirit still haunts the court, which took away the life she wanted.
Spirit looking for water
But the headless woman is not the only ghost that is said to haunt the Calcutta High Court. From the eerie sound of rattling chains to the inexplicable chilly drafts that freeze the air, countless reports of paranormal activity have cemented the manor's reputation as a hotbed of the supernatural.
Another ghost said to wander is the 19th-century poet Tapis. He protested against the British East India Company and the oppression that the Indian people faced under colonial rule. He was imprisoned for a long time and deprived of water and food.
He was eventually executed after a long time without drinking. After his death, a rumor spread about him haunting the manor, in which it was said that the ghost of Tapis was looking for water.
Haunted Room No. 11 in the Calcutta High Court
The haunting is said to take place throughout the courtyard, but is particularly concentrated in a specific room. Over the years, many convicts received death sentences in room no. 11.
Both notorious criminals and Indian revolutionaries are said to have passed through a secret tunnel beneath the courtroom, and many people claim that something paranormal is happening both inside and outside the courtroom.
Police officers on duty do not want anyone to stand guard in front of room 11, some claim that they have seen ghosts of prisoners sitting on benches outside and walking in the corridors.
So, the next time you find yourself near the Calcutta High Court as dusk falls and the city sleeps, tread carefully and listen carefully, for you may hear the whispers of the convicts' ghosts, their tales of sorrow and despair echoing in the hallowed halls of justice.
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Featured image: Paweł Hamilton/Wikimedia
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Image Source: Pixabay.com
