5-Year-Old Child Hacked To Death In Occult Ritual Sacrifice To Find Buried Treasure

A woman and her daughter were arrested in connection to the murder of a 5-year-old girl, who was hacked to death in India as part of an occult ritual sacrifice.

The police said the two women carried out the ghastly practice to discover buried treasure. The incident came to light Tuesday when the police in the state of Uttar Pradesh were informed about a missing girl. During questioning in the neighborhood, it was found the two women hacked the girl to death and later dumped her body, The Times of India reported.

The accused, who lived in the Chamraudi village under Kotwali police station, killed their neighbor's child after being influenced by a sorcerer.

"The sorcerer told the accused that she would get buried treasure if she sacrificed a child as part of a ritual," a police source told The Times of India.

Following the sorcerer's instructions, the two women abducted the 5-year-old girl and slit her throat. They later disposed of her body in a nearby sewer.

The police later retrieved the victim's body from the sewer and sent it for an autopsy. Police officer Bhaskar Mishra told The Times of India the victim had serious injury marks on her neck.

The child's mother had filed a missing complaint after her daughter could not be found. The victim's father had died a few days ago due to an illness.

"We have detained the accused woman, her daughter and husband for questioning. We are investigating the incident from other angles too," a police officer said, according to the Tribune.

The accused admitted to killing the child as part of a "ritual sacrifice." The police did not reveal the charges placed against the two accused.

In many parts of India, especially in rural areas, several people rely on occultist practices, and even take part in human sacrifice to fulfill their wishes.

In March, a 42-year-old baby girl's charred body was found near her house under mysterious circumstances and the police said it was linked to "child sacrifice." The incident took place in the state of Jharkhand. "The body was completely charred and thrown inside a pit in the bush nearby. We are questioning the baby’s mother, Sunita Devi," police said at the time.