Five women drowned in the River Indus near Gilgit on Thursday. While local residents in Jaglot managed to recover the bodies of two women, the search for the remaining three is underway.

According to the police, the women were washing clothes alongside the river when one of them slipped on the wet bank. The other four women, in their efforts to pull her out, were carried away by the current.

However, locals and relatives of the women claim that “djinns” are behind the tragedy.

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Speaking to the media, a local man said that everyone in the family knew that one of the women was “possessed by a djinn.” and it was the djinn “who forced her to jump into the river.”

The man further went onto say that people in the area were of the view that the women wouldn’t have died without any role of supernatural forces.

Even at the funeral prayers of the two women, local clerics asked people to recite more verses from the Holy Quran to seek God’s forgiveness and save themselves from paranormal forces and the wrath of the djinns.

Meanwhile, police officials dismissed the superstitions and said that “there is no such thing in the law.”

Belief in supernatural powers is a common concept in Gilgit-Baltistan where families often seek help from Aamils (exorcists) in matters relating to health, marriage, etc.