Man kills cousin, walks village with severed head
He marched around the village, a severed head in hand as shocked villagers watched the sight in horror.
He marched around the village, a severed head in hand as shocked villagers watched the sight in horror.

Kalam Patel (28) of Padali village of Satara district allegedly killed his cousin, Sikander Patel (36), by clobbering him with a steel rod on Saturday night and then severed his head
After wandering around for nearly half an hour, Kalam threw Sikander’s head and body into a nearby drain.
The duo was involved in a land dispute since a decade, officials of the Karad taluka police station said, adding that Kalam hacked Sikander without any immediate provocation and later hid in a nearby mosque.
Locals said that about 50 people, who were busy attending prayers at the nearby, witnessed Kalam’s gruesome act. A relative of the Sikander, who was part of the congregation, came forward to lodge a complaint.
“Based on the complaint of the relative who is also an eyewitness, we have arrested Kalam,” said Assistant Police Inspector M.P. Dhere. “It is possible that more people are involved.”
The police said they were also investigating if the alleged murder could be a fallout of superstitious beliefs.
The police said Kalam had been under the impression that his wife had returned to her parents’ home soon after their marriage as Sikander had performed black magic to cast a spell on her.
ABOUT THE AUTHORYogesh JoshiYogesh Joshi is Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times. He covers politics, security, development and human rights from Western Maharashtra.

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