Boy, 9, Beheaded, Body Chopped Into Pieces In "Human Sacrifice" Ritual

A nine-year-old boy was kidnapped and decapitated as part of a "human sacrifice" ritual for getting money and later his body was chopped into pieces, Dadra and Nagar Haveli police said on Wednesday and added 100 personnel were involved in connecting the dots to crack the brutal crime.

Police arrested two men and detained a teenage boy last week after the headless body was found dumped near a canal at Vapi in the Valsad district in neighbouring Gujarat.

The nine-year-old boy went missing from Sayli village in the Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) district of the Union Territory on December 29, following which a case of kidnapping was registered at the Silvassa police station on December 30, police said in a release.

While multiple teams were formed to trace the boy, a headless body matching his description was found at Vapi, located around 30 km away from Silvassa, the headquarters of the DNH district, police said.

While the body was found in a canal in Vapi, parts of the body, suspected to be of the victim, were found in Sayli village where the ritual was performed, an official said. The body parts have been sent for forensic examination, he added.

"The investigation led the police to a juvenile. He revealed he had kidnapped the victim on December 29, 2022, from Sayli village and murdered him as a human sacrifice with the help of his accomplice," the police said.

A case of murder was registered.

The interrogation of the detained juvenile helped the police recover weapons used in the crime, police said.

The detained boy disclosed that his friend Shailesh Kohkera (28) helped him in killing the victim, police said.

"He said one Ramesh Sanwar was also part of the conspiracy. Sanwar prompted the detainee and Shailesh Kohkera to perform a human sacrifice ritual in the hope of gaining monetary benefits," it said.

Subsequently, Kohkera and Sanvar were traced and arrested on January 3.

Police said the juvenile worked as a butcher in a chicken shop in Sayli village. He is a native of Karjan village in Kaprada taluka of Tapi district in Gujarat.

He has been sent to the observation home at Surat and further investigation is underway.

A team of 100 personnel was formed and assigned different tasks to solve the crime after the headless body was found at Vapi, the police said. 

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