Tantrik's house of horror? Boy sacrificed, bones found

A tantrik, his wife and five disciples have been arrested in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, for sacrificing a two-year-old boy in the belief that it would bring them wealth, police said on Thursday, adding this may not be the first such killing by him.

The arrests were made on Wednesday night from the industrial town, some 30 km from here, at the Ruabandha locality workers colony.

"Ishwari Yadav, his wife and five of their disciples were arrested after police dug up the one-room house and recovered the body of the boy. He was sacrificed by them," said Amit Kumar, superintendent of police of Durg district.

Police said the accused thought a human sacrifice would make them millionaires.

The boy was kidnapped by the accused on November 23, leading to widespread anger among the residents of Bhilai who thought it was an abduction for ransom.

ML Kotwani, the police official handling the case, said Yadav was the prime accused and he had convinced his disciples to take part in the sacrifice.

He said police recovered several bones and clothes and other vital evidence from Yadav's home and initial investigations indicate they may have sacrificed a six-year-old girl too in recent months.

"We are interrogating them, there may be some more killings by them but everything will be known in a few days," the officer remarked.