Class 9 girl tortured to death by father, uncle in ‘occult ritual’ in Gujarat

The first information report (FIR) said that the girl’s father wanted to get rid of the spirit that possessed her by performing occult rituals

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly tortured to death while performing black magic on her in Dhava village of Gir-Somnath by her father, a businessman from Surat and her uncle, who believed that she was possessed with evil spirits.

Police have arrested the girl’s father and uncle for murder after investigating the matter. (Representative Image)

This incident came to light after two women were allegedly sacrificed as part of a ritual in a Kerala village by three people to gain wealth and prosperity.

According to a first information report (FIR) filed on October 12 based on a complaint by the victim’s maternal grandfather at Talala police station, Bhavesh Akbari, who came to the village six months ago from Surat, along with his brother, Dilip Akbari, performed some occult rituals on the teen and made her wear old clothes before taking her to a field where she was tortured from October 1 to 7.

The victim, a Class 9 student was first forced to stand close to fire for two hours, thrashed with a stick and wire in a sugarcane farm. With blisters all over her body, she was made to sit between two chairs with hair tied with a stick so she could not move. She was denied food and water too. The torture continued for three days from October 1 till they found her dead on October 7. The father wanted to get rid of the spirit that possessed her by performing these occult rituals, as per the FIR.

The girl’s father Bhavesh and uncle Dilip cremated her decomposed body on October 8 at a crematorium nearby, police said. They wrapped it in a plastic bag and a blanket and transported it in a car boot.

The accused told the close family members that she had contracted an infectious disease and that they had cremated her secretly to check the spread of the disease to others, according to the FIR.

The maternal grandfather got suspicious as there was no discussion earlier about the infectious disease by the accused with the family members, including the victim’s mother. The grandfather learnt from the villagers about that the child had died due to black magic performed on her by Bhavesh and Dilip, according to the FIR.

Police have arrested the duo for murder after investigating the matter and talking to villagers.