Missing 7-Year-Old Child's Body Found Near Home, Occult Link Being Investigated

The search for a 7-year-old missing child in India ended Tuesday after his body was found near his home.

The incident took place in the western state of Maharashtra. The child has been identified as Aarav Kesare, the police said, according to the Hindustan Times. Following the autopsy, a police officer confirmed the child was strangled to death.

Authorities said they have started investigating an occult link in the case after turmeric and vermilion were found near the child's corpse. People in the area believe these items are used in superstitious rituals.

However, the police are yet to confirm the motive behind the child's murder. Officials said there is a possibility the items were used to misdirect the investigation.

“Right now it is not confirmed whether it was a superstitious killing. The investigation is on from all angles. It is not right to call it a superstitious killing as it lacks confirmation. There are multiple teams working on this,” Shailesh Balkawade, superintendent of Kolhapur police, said according to the Hindustan Times.

The boy was reported missing from near his house on Oct. 2. His parents and his elder sibling were at home when he went missing, Times Now reported. The police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, and an investigation was underway into the incident.

In August, a 4-year-old became a victim of an occult practice when a priest killed the child to cure an unknown illness. The victim's father and a local temple priest were arrested in connection with the death. The child's body was found dumped in a river in the eastern state of Assam. "We were informed on Monday by the victim's eldest sister that her sister, who was sleeping with two other siblings and their grandmother, had been abducted by some unknown persons," police officer Sudhakar Singh told the Hindustan Times at the time. When police launched a search, they found the victim's body. "Preliminary investigation revealed that the priest claimed to have dreamt that he had some incurable illness, which could be cured only with the sacrifice of a child," Singh said.