In another appalling incident of suspected ‘human sacrifice’, the body of a baby girl without a head, presumed to be that of a one-year-old, was found floating in the NTR water reservoir near Kalvakuntla in Penumuru mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh on 5 March.
Locals who stumbled upon the gory sight on Monday morning alerted the police, who have started an investigation.
Police and locals suspect that it was a case of human sacrifice as they found vermillion, turmeric and a few pooja items in the vicinity – all pointing towards a possible black magic ritual that was conducted near the reservoir’s bank.
However, police have no leads in the case so far. They are yet to identify the victim or her family. Police are awaiting the autopsy report, which will determine the age and reveal more details about the crime.
This crime has a striking resemblance to the ‘human sacrifice’ case in Uppal in Hyderabad last month, where a couple allegedly killed a three-six month-old girl child, presumably in a bid to improve their fortunes.
Though the police found incriminating evidence like the feeding bottle of the baby and audio recordings, in which the couple reportedly spoke about the ‘sacrifice’, they have not been able to recover the baby’s torso and are also yet to identify the girl.
Uppal police said that the baby was abducted from a couple who used to live on the roadside near Bhoiguda in Secunderabad. But they have not been able to find her parents yet.
Meanwhile, Penumuru police announced that they have formed police teams and are visiting the villages near the scene of the crime to find if someone’s child was missing or if someone has lodged a missing complaint.
Pakala Sub-Inspector, U Venkateshwarulu, the investigating officer, told TNM said that they have no leads so far in the case, and they may get some clues only after the autopsy report comes out.
Contradicting the claims of the SI, a constable from Penumuru police station said that the autopsy report was out and that it revealed that the girl had been killed 20 days ago.
(The story was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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