The beheaded body of the boy was found in a ground in the outskirts of Gorkha village on January 7. (Photo for representational purpose)
Five days after the torso of a 14-year-old boy was found in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, his father was today arrested for killing the minor in the name of 'human sacrifice', which he thought would bring good luck to his family, police said.
"The accused Ranvijay Bharti (38), who had been apprehended from his native place in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, was today formally arrested. During the interrogation, he confessed to killing his son Chandan for the purpose of human sacrifice for the well-being of his family," Raigarh Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Shukla said.
The beheaded body of the boy was found in a ground in the outskirts of Gorkha village on January 7. Some material used in conducting religious rituals, including incense sticks, earthen lamps, flowers, besides a sharp weapon and an empty liquor bottle, were recovered from the spot, which indicated that a puja was performed at the murder place.
During his questioning, Bharti, a native of Chhatauna village in Azamgarh, told the police that he had shifted to Raigarh ten years back along with his family and started working at Jindal Steel.
"Later, he himself became a contractor, but suffered a huge loss in his work," the Superintendent of Police said.
Mr Shukla said, according to the accused, black magic is a usual practice in his village and he thought some "evil power" was creating troubles in his personal and professional life.
"He decided to offer his son as sacrifice to get rid of his troubles. On January 7, he took his son near Gorkha village and after performing rituals beheaded him in the night," the Superintendent of Police said quoting the statement of the accused.
Out of the six children, Chandan was the fourth child of Bharti.
"After the incident, the accused fled to his native place in Azamgarh, where he had already sent his wife and other children before committing the crime," he said.
Based on the investigation, a team was sent to Uttar Pradesh and the accused was arrested from there, the officer added.
The accused has been charged under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code, the Superintendent of Police said adding that further probe was on.