Parents of ‘cannibalised’ son seek justice

NAGPUR: The aggrieved parents of 9-year old Rupesh Muley have sought gallows for the alleged killers of their son who they believed was brutally murdered for getting ‘fortune through black magic’. The parents also levelled allegations of cannibalism against the nine accused as the child’s major organs like kidney, eyes, nose, and private parts were found missing.

Renuka and Hiraman Muley through counsel Shashibhushan Wahane challenged the

Wardha

Sessions Court’s orders of July 1 of acquitting all nine accused who allegedly ate the child’s body parts after killing him.

A division bench comprising justices Vasanti Naik and

Murlidhar Giratkar

issued notices to the accused and directed them to submit replies in three weeks.

On November 8, 2014, Rupesh left his home in

Wadar

slums, Wardha, at around 4pm to play at a nearby temple. Around 6pm, his parents saw him playing there while they were on their way to the market.

On return, they started searching for him and finally lodged a police complaint around 11pm. On the next day, Renuka’s brother Suresh Harade saw two human legs in a heap of garbage at Isaji Layout and found it to be of Rupesh who was still in school uniform.

On investigations, the police found blood stains at various places on a nearby cement road. They then received a tip off that the main accused Asif Shah alias

Munna Pathan

was behind the crime. He was nabbed by the cops at his residence at Karla slums. Shah used to ferry Rupesh in an autorickshaw.

Shah confessed to his involvement in the chilling murder and led the local crime branch (LCB) to the recovery of a razor blade, an autorickshaw (MH-32/C-8823), bed-sheet and clothes. A chullah made of stone along with five fire sticks were also found near

Karla River

where the accused allegedly cut body parts of the child, roast and ate it.

Subsequently, offences under Section 302 of the IPC and Section 3 of the ‘Eradication of Human Sacrifices and Other Inhuman, Evil, and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act,’ 2013 were registered against the accused. Shubhash Bhoyar, and four more accused were netted following Shah’s interrogations. Other accused — Vinod Kshirsagar and Satish Kalode were absconding till April 28, 2015, when they were arrested. Dilip Kanhekar died during the pendency of the trial.

The petitioners contended that the sessions judge didn’t consider testimonies by Kalidas Raut and Nagesh Jadhav who had witnessed Rupesh accompanying the accused in an autorickshaw when they had stopped at Raut’s shop for snacks. The judge disbelieved their evidence stating it is highly unsafe to rely on it as it wasn’t corroborated by any other evidence.