A five-year-old girl was allegedly beaten to death by her superstitious parents who were performing black magic to rid her of "evil spirits," authorities said.

The gruesome incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday in Nagpur city, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Cops detained the child's father Siddharth Chimne, mother Ranjana Chimne, and a relative, Priya Bansod the following day, according to Times Now.

The 45-year-old father had taken his wife and two daughters aged 5 and 6 to a religious tomb during the Hindu festival of Guru Purnima, a senior police official said.

Siddharth, who also runs a local news channel on Youtube, suspected changes in the behavior and demeanor of his youngest daughter after their return from the religious tomb.

The authorities said the parents resolved to use black magic to expel the evil forces they believed were controlling the child, NDTV reported.

The girl's parents carried out the ritual with the help of her 32-year-old aunt, Bansod, during the night. They also recorded a video of the entire ordeal on one of their phones, which was recovered by the police.

The video showed the accused questioning the weeping and terrified child, authorities said. The little girl was unable to comprehend the questions and couldn't respond.

The child was slapped and brutally assaulted by the three suspects during the so-called ritual, causing her to lose consciousness and slump to the ground, authorities told Firstpost.

The victim was taken to the religious tomb once again, Saturday morning, following which the three suspects left her at a local hospital and fled the scene.

A security guard at the hospital reportedly grew suspicious of the accused and took a photo of their car as they left. The girl was later pronounced dead at the hospital, and the cops were informed.

The accused were traced and arrested based on the vehicle registration number in the photo clicked by the guard.

The parents and the aunt were booked under the pertinent clauses of the Indian Penal Code that hold inhuman, evil, and tantric practices and black magic as criminal offenses.

In a similar incident of fatal child abuse, the legal guardians of an 8-year-old boy in California were arrested for murder. Patrick Johnson, 49, and his wife Crystal Johnson, 47, were charged with the murder of their son, Jaeluv Smith, in December 2021. The coroner's report indicated the child's death to be a homicide caused by extensive blunt force trauma.