‘Human sacrifice’ bid on woman in Punjab, two arrested

Inspector general of police (IGP), Ropar Range, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar identified the arrested accused as Kuldeep Singh alias Keepa and Jasvir Singh alias Jassi, both residents of Ferozepur village in Fatehgarh Sahib, about 40km from here

A 50-year-old woman was seriously injured after being attacked with a sickle by two men who were allegedly told by a sorcerer that human sacrifice would make them wealthy, police said Thursday.

A 50-year-old woman was seriously injured after being attacked with a sickle by two men who were allegedly told by a sorcerer that human sacrifice would make them wealthy, police said Thursday. (Image for representational purpose)

The pursuit of becoming rich overnight landed the two attackers in police net.

Inspector general of police (IGP), Ropar Range, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar identified the arrested accused as Kuldeep Singh alias Keepa and Jasvir Singh alias Jassi, both residents of Ferozepur village in Fatehgarh Sahib, about 40km from here.

The police have also recovered a motorcycle and a sickle used in the crime from the possession of the accused, according to an official statement.

The victim hailing from Faror village in Fatehgarh Sahib was found lying seriously injured in the fields near a canal in Ferozepur on Wednesday morning. She is out of danger and is undergoing treatment at PGIMER Chandigarh, the IG said.

Bhullar said both the accused were circus performers and used to display cycle stunts in different villages.

The accused Keepa and Jassi met the woman through her son, who became friends with them during their show in Faror about eight months ago, he said.

Divulging more details about preliminary investigations, Fatehgarh Sahib senior superintendent of police Ravjot Kaur Grewal said the accused wanted to become rich overnight and came in contact with a ‘tantrik’ (sorcerer), who asked them to perform a ‘human sacrifice’ on a woman.

Grewal said the two accused on Tuesday called the woman on the pretext of taking her to the tantrik for paying obeisance. They, instead, took her to an isolated place in Ferozepur to kill her. They attacked her with a sickle resulting in grave injuries on her neck and other body parts, police said.

“Following information from the villagers, the police immediately started investigations in this case and arrested both the accused,” Kaur said.

A case has been registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Fatehgarh Sahib police station.