11-year-old boy killed in alleged occult ritual in Rajasthan's Pali district; villager detained

JODHPUR: A case of alleged human sacrifice has emerged from Rajasthan's Pali district, where an 11-year-old boy was allegedly murdered in Sojat area by a man who believed the act would help him get married. The incident took place Thursday in a village under the Sojat City police station limits.

Police have detained a 30-year-old villager who allegedly confessed during interrogation that he killed the child on the advice of a tantrik involved in occult practices. Police were, however, tight lipped about the identities of the accused and the victim.

According to investigators, the accused was known to the victim's family and had been tracking the boy's movements for several days. Thursday afternoon, when the child was returning home alone from a madrasa, the accused allegedly lured him towards a pond about 500 metres from the village.

Police said the accused tied the boy's hands, legs and mouth before performing occult rituals in bushes near the pond embankment. He then allegedly slit the child's throat with a knife. The boy's family later found his body near the pond.

Police recovered bloodstained wooden pieces, a broken earthen pot and other items suspected to have been used in the ritual. A forensic science team inspected the spot and videography of the scene was carried out.

The victim's father alleged that the accused placed the child's neck on a wooden plank before killing him and demanded the harshest punishment. Suspicion reportedly turned towards the accused after he allegedly tried to mislead villagers and police by claiming he had seen someone else commit the murder. Police said he later went missing after the family informed authorities, deepening suspicion.

"When he was detained, he had already changed his bloodstained clothes. During sustained questioning, he confessed to the crime," Deputy Superintendent of Police Ratan Dewasi said.

Police are now searching for the occultist who allegedly instigated the killing and are treating the case as one linked to occult practices.

Villagers claimed the accused had shown violent behaviour in the past and alleged that he had earlier killed a buffalo calf and mutilated cattle, but escaped action after appeals from his family.

The killing sparked anger in the village, with residents holding a protest meeting outside a school on Friday and demanding strict punishment. Villagers also reportedly decided to socially boycott the accused's family.