Pregnant Woman Kills Baby Nephew As 'Sacrifice' To Save Her Unborn Child

A pregnant woman in India killed her 18-month-old nephew as a "sacrifice" to save her unborn child from death.

The woman and her husband were arrested after parts of the toddler's body were found strewn in a sugarcane field, police said Thursday.

Saroj Devi, 32, living in a village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, had lost three babies prior to the incident. When she got pregnant the fourth time, she consulted a religious person, or a "tantric," on how she could save her unborn child from dying like the previous three, according to Deccan Herald.

After Devi was instructed to perform a "sacrificial ritual," the woman choked her nephew to death and chopped off parts of his body as part of the ritual.

"My elder brother and sister-in-law had earlier lost three children soon after their birth," the deceased child's bereaved father reportedly said. "When she became pregnant for the fourth time, the couple consulted a 'tantric' for a solution so that their fourth child won't meet the same fate as that of the previous three. They killed my second child."

The boy's parents returned home Monday to find their toddler missing. The child's grandmother, Gangadeyi, as well as his aunt, Devi, were supposed to take care of the kid while they were out, the Times of India reported.

The parents filed a missing complaint Tuesday after failing to find their son.

A couple of days after the boy vanished, his body parts were found by a farmer in a sugarcane field close to the village. The farmer informed the police about the discovery Wednesday.

The toddler's body parts were recovered, and his head was found with a tilak, which is a religious marking usually worn on the forehead.

Cops interrogated the slain child's aunt and uncle. Devi eventually admitted to committing the horrific crime as part of a ritual to save her unborn child.

"Prima facie, the boy was killed in a sacrificial ritual. The victim's aunt has confessed to having committed the crime," an officer said. "She told police that she killed the boy on the instruction of a 'tantric.' The child was first choked to death and later his leg and other body parts were chopped off. We have recovered the child's head that had a tilak on the forehead."