After being perplexed for nearly four years by the discovery of the victim's decapitated body at a Hindu temple, Indian police have now detained five men on suspicion of performing a human sacrifice.
2019 saw the murder and machete decapitation of 64-year-old Shanti Shaw after she visited the temple in Guwahati, a rural northeastern Indian city.
Until Shaw's body was finally found in January and the case was reopened, police made no progress in solving it. As a result, several criminals were apprehended, while others are still at large.
Diganta Barah, the police commissioner in Guwahati, told reporters late on Tuesday that "the five planned the killing of the woman." "A total of 12 individuals participated."
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According to Barah, 52-year-old Pradeep Pathak, the alleged ringleader, planned the murder as part of a religious ritual to commemorate the passing of his brother.
He continued, "The accused thought the sacrifice would appease the dead's soul.
Between March 25 and April 1, Pathak and four other suspects were apprehended, and the police are still looking for their other seven conspirators.
Between 2014 and 2021, 103 incidences of human sacrifice were reported to India's National Crime Records Bureau.
Ritual killings are more common in tribal and remote areas with a strong belief in witchcraft and the occult, frequently performed to appease gods.
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