Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel gets whipped 'to avert evil': Watch

In a bid to mark the occasion of Gaura-Gauri puja in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel got his arms whipped, as per tradition. On this festival, it is believed that receiving whiplash would ward off bad omens.

Taking to Twitter, CM Baghel stated that it was a part of an act and was discharging rituals. He received whiplash on his wrist as part of a folk tradition in the Durg district.

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It is believed that bearing blows on the hand on occasion averts evil. In the visuals, CM Baghel can be seen taking repeated whips on his arms while his smile was intact. On the other hand, the person performing the ritual could be seen using his optimum force to whip the chief minister.

The tradition is referred to as the sota. Though many categorise the act as a superstition, the tradition has been going on for years.

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It is believed that the act keeps bad evil at bay. CM Baghel performed the ritual in the year 2021 too.

In 2021, CM Baghel was seen getting a solid physical whipping in Durg as part of a ritual known as 'sota prahar', on the occasion of Govardhan Puja.

The CM was seen standing still with his right hand stretched out, while a man hits him with a rope-like object just a little over Baghel's clenched fist.

Despite being whipped rather quite hard, CM Baghel was seen standing unaffected with a smiling face and then even hugged the man who delivered the whipping after it was over, unflinching throughout the entire ritual.