Police crack occultist’s murder case, arrest accused

Times News NetworkKanpur: Police on Tuesday cracked the murder case of an elderly tantric (occult practitioner) that happened in Srinagar town 13 days ago. Acting out of superstition and anxiety about his own death, a man attacked the tantric with a sickle and disposed of the body in a well. He blamed the tantric’s occult activities for the illnesses and difficulties faced by his family. Police recovered the weapon used in the crime and a mobile phone from the accused. After being presented in court, the accused was sent to jail.Ram Prasad Prajapati (60), who lived in Srinagar town, would carry out exorcisms and rituals while also taking animals out to graze. On May 26, he went towards the fields with goats. Later that evening, his body was found in the well belonging to Durjan Sahu. As the body had injuries consistent with a sharp weapon, it was treated as a suspected murder.The postmortem report also verified the injury marks. His wife, Luli Prajapati, submitted a written complaint to the police, stating her suspicion that Ram Prasad had been attacked with a sharp weapon and then thrown into the well to hide evidence. An FIR was registered against an unknown person, and the SP set up three teams to investigate the case.On Tuesday, teams led by Srinagar Station House Officer Jay Chandra Singh and Surveillance Team SI Shiv Pratap Singh detained the accused, Lakhan Sahu, from Bilrahi Tiraha. Based on his identification, the sickle used for the killing was recovered from Daupura pond. During questioning, Lakhan said that his brother had died one and a half years earlier. He held Ram Prasad responsible for his brother’s death, as well as for other ongoing problems, illnesses, and troubles within the family.He believed that if he failed to kill Ram Prasad, he would die himself. Because of this belief, he killed Ram Prasad and threw the body into the well.SP Shashank Singh, while revealing details of the case, said that teams from the SOG, Surveillance, and Srinagar police station examined multiple angles of the blind murder and apprehended the accused. The SP stated that the accused was influenced by superstition and blamed Ram Prasad for every difficulty in the family, and in an attempt to protect himself, killed the tantric and disposed of the body in the well.Lakhan Sahu, from Bhairav Ganj in Srinagar town, had purchased a new sickle from the market specifically to kill the tantric. On May 26, he went towards the fields and attacked the tantric with that gandasa. To remove evidence, he threw the body into the well. After the offence, he ran off, leaving the sickle near the pond. The SP announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for the police team.