50-year-old man axed to death in Gaya district: Police

According to Rita Devi, wife of the deceased, his husband used to perform exorcisms. He got a call from someone in the village late Monday night and left the house, however, he did not return until the morning, she said

A man belonging to the scheduled caste (SC) community was axed to death at Mohanpur Tola village in Gaya district, police said, adding that his body was recovered on Tuesday morning.

(Representative Photo)

Police said the deceased identified as Krishna Bharti, 50, was found near a waterway by the villagers.

According to Rita Devi, wife of the deceased, his husband used to perform exorcisms. He got a call from someone in the village late Monday night and left the house, however, he did not return until the morning, she said.

She said that the villagers saw the body (of Bharti) on Tuesday morning and informed her. His throat was slit and he had several sharp-edged weapon wounds on his body, Devi said, alleging that his husband was killed and demanded capital punishment for the killers.

Manoj Ram, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Imamganj, said that preliminary investigations suggested that the murder was related to exorcism while they have registered a case of murder against unidentified accused persons on the statement of the deceased’s wife.

A probe has been launched to identify and arrest the accused, said the police officer.