A man in his mid-forties, said to be “mentally unsound”, was arrested for allegedly killing his four-year-old neighbour and “offering” her blood at the steps of the temple inside his home in Panej village of Chhota Udepur’s Bodeli taluka in a suspected case of human sacrifice, said police.
Based on the complaint of the victim’s mother, the police launched a probe into the matter and arrested the accused Monday.
The incident occurred around 9 am on Monday when the victim and her one-and-a-half year old brother were at their house while their mother was busy with household chores.
Police said that the accused, who was wielding an axe, dragged the four-year-old to his house, despite protests from the mother.
He then allegedly beheaded the child and collected the blood as “offering” to a temple inside his house, said the police.
Providing details of the case, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gaurav Agarwal said, “Primarily, it appears to be a case of human sacrifice as the accused has offered blood on a few steps of a temple in the corner of his house… We have lodged an FIR based on the complaint of the victim’s mother. The accused appears to be mentally unsound and the motive for the crime is being investigated. We are also probing if anyone else is involved in the murder.”
Local residents said that although the accused allegedly dragged away the girl in full public view, none of the villagers “could muster courage as he was armed with an axe”.
Panej village is also home to the President of the Bodeli Taluka Panchayat, Sheetalkunvarba Maharaul, who rushed to the spot after learning about the incident.
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The accused is currently being treated at the hospital as he was allegedly being assaulted by the villagers after committing the crime, said police, adding that he is “under police watch”.
The FIR lodged at Bodeli police station, states, “In order to please the Gods, the accused kidnapped a girl child from the neighbouring house from the custody of her parents… He wielded his axe to threaten the victim’s mother as well as other villagers, who attempted to rescue the child…He threatened to kill them. He took the girl to the center of the room and hacked her neck with his axe, murdering the child.”
The accused has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 103(1) (murder), 137(2) (kidnapping), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) as well as Sections of the Gujarat Police Act, according to the police.
ASP Agarwal said the accused had also attempted to kidnap the victim’s brother, whom the mother managed to rescue.