Thane:
With the arrest of three women including a family member, Kalyan Railway Police today claimed to have solved a case of suspected human sacrifice involving a 12-year-old boy, whose body was recovered from Khadavli River in Kasara.
On Monday, the body of Daksh Kanjode was found from the river after local fishermen spotted it and informed the police. The body was found dumped in the river, wrapped in a plastic bag tied to a bucket.
A thorough probe into the crime led the police to the victim's step-mother, Lata Kanjode, who allegedly killed the minor by strangulating him with a rope, along with two other relatives.
Later, the trio transported the body packed in a bucket, by train to Kasara in the wee hours of July 1.
Apart from Lata Kanjode (35), her sister Varsha Jadhav (25) and sister-in-law Latika Jadhav (30) have been arrested in connection with the case.
Daksh's maternal uncle, who lived nearby, had lodged a complaint that the boy was missing on July 9. He had also said he had seen the three women often performing late night rituals, but that he was unaware of their purpose.
"We are now trying to find out if the boy's father was in anyway involved in the crime," said MK Dhakane of the Kalyan Railway Police.
According to police, Daksh's step-mother Lata Kanjode was his father Ramdas Kanjode's third wife. His first wife died in 2010, after which he had re-married. Subsequently, his second wife too deserted him, following which he married Lata, who has now been arrested.
Police had earlier registered a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of IPC after the boy went missing. Later, when his body was found, a case under sections 302, 201, 120B and 182 of the IPC was registered, police said.
The trio was presented in the court on Wednesday and have been remanded into police custody till July 30, the officer said, adding that they are probing the human sacrifice angle too.