In a suspected case of human sacrifice, the police on Thursday arrested a man after headless bodies of two children were found in Semarhat village under the Manika police station of Latehar district.
The children had gone missing on Wednesday evening. The family members found the feet of one of the children buried under sand covered with bushes on Thursday morning and immediately informed police.
Later, a police team retrieved two headless bodies buried close to the house of the prime suspect, identified as Sunil Oraon, who had placed bundles of thorny shrubs over the burial place. Heads were still to be found.
The two children were identified as Nirmal Oraon (11), son of Birendra Oraon, and Sheela Kumari (10), daughter of Bihari Oraon.
Birendra Oraon said, “Sunil Oraon killed my son to appease God. He practised black magic. My son went missing on Wednesday evening. He must have captured him for sacrificing.”
As the news about the alleged human sacrifice spread, a large number of locals rushed to the village and thronged the spot where the bodies were buried.
{{/usCountry}}As the news about the alleged human sacrifice spread, a large number of locals rushed to the village and thronged the spot where the bodies were buried.
{{/usCountry}}Senior civil and police officers, including Latehar’s sub-divisional officer (SDO) Jai Prakash Jha and Barwadih sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Amarnath also rushed with heavy contingent of security personnel. The police also called in forensic experts to the spot for collecting evidence.
The police team also broke into the house of the prime accused and allegedly found blood stains there.
Latehar SDO Jai Prakash Jha rejected the claim about human sacrifice. “This seems to be a case of murder. However, the police team is also investigating this angle.”
Barwadih SDPO Amarnath said, “We are investigating the case from all possible angles. Our team of experts has found blood strains from the prime suspect’s home. Search is on for finding the missing heads.”
Latehar’s superintendent of police Prashant Anand said, “We are interrogating Sunil Oraon. He had been to jail in a murder case earlier also.”
The Latehar police had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to crack this case as soon as possible.