SHOCK GRIPPED the residents of Yaw Barimakrom, a farming community near Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua district of the Ashanti region, after a man allegedly grabbed a seven-year-old class one pupil and shaved his hair for rituals.

Kwaku Wiredu, aka Sika Wura, allegedly picked the victim, Kofi Sarfo, to his cocoa farm, forcibly shaved him with a sharp razor blade and then wrapped the hair with a plantain leave.

The incident, which left dozens of the residents in a state of shock, occurred on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at about 6.30pm.

The Nyinahin District Police commander, DSP E.O Fosu, who confirmed the incident in an interview, said the police was investigating the matter to establish its authenticity or otherwise.

According to him, it was possible the suspect might have been framed up in connection with a chieftaincy dispute involving him and other people in the community.

Explaining how he was picked up, little Kofi Sarfo said he was playing with two of his school mates, Solo and Mawuli after school when the suspect called and dragged him to his cocoa farm.

He told DAILY GUIDE that his two friends decided to follow them but Kwaku Wiredu sternly warned them to go back and play.

He said when they got to the cocoa farm, the suspect asked him to sit on a stump and removed a razor blade from his pocket and began to shave him with it.

The seven-year-old pupil said he kept mute while the suspect shaved his hair as he threatened to cut off his head if he screamed.

He said after shaving a portion of his hair, the suspect wiped the blood that was oozing from his head with the shaved hair and wrapped it with a plantain leave before keeping it in his pocket.

The suspect, the minor narrated, then gave the used razor blade with blood stains on it to him to take home.

The mother of the victim, Yaa Alamisi who was stunned by the incident said they first reported the matter to the Agogoso Unit Committee where they were advised to formally lodge a complaint with the Adiembra Police.

She said the suspect was arrested after the two friends of the victim had testified to the police about what had transpired but was later transferred to the District Police Command at Nyinahin.

Alamisi disclosed that at about 6pm that fateful day, she asked one of her sons to call the victim for his evening meal but was told by the friends that the suspect had taken him to his cocoa farm.

She said her family had rejected pleas by the suspect’s family to have the matter settled out of court insisting that the court was the appropriate platform for legitimate determination of the case.

She said she was terrified at the suspicion that the suspect might use the hair for ritual purposes in order to make more money while they faced adverse consequences.