(PTI) New Delhi, Aug. 6: The mystery behind claims of women's braids being chopped off may not be a mystery after all, with psychologists and police saying it is "mass hysteria" triggered by rumours. Mass hysteria incidents like Calcutta's Stoneman (in the late eighties) or Delhi's bal katani (hair-chopper) are examples of immature mechanisms." Samir Parikh, director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare, Delhi, said this sort of mass hysteria could go on for weeks. How society talks about these incidents, the way they are reported in the media and the views of the immediate social milieu have a bearing on this sort of mass hysteria." This works on both the conscious and the subconscious mind - and there are recorded incidents of such hysteria across the world," Parikh said.

Source: The Telegraph August 06, 2017 21:21 UTC