Man beheads nephew to 'appease deities' for bountiful harvest

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In a shocking case of superstition, a man in Odisha allegedly beheaded his 12-year-old nephew in order to "appease deities" for good crop harvest. The alleged incident occurred in Nuapada district's Jadamunda village on Saturday.

The accused identified as Chintamani Majhi, 48, lured his nephew to his field and allegedly killed him with a billhook. However, the victim's elder brother witnessed the entire incident from a distance.

After the accused killed the victim, his brother raised an alarm following which villagers gathered at the spot. Later, the villagers informed the police regarding the alleged crime and the accused was immediately nabbed.

Following the arrest, an investigation was launched by the police. During the investigation, the accused confessed his crime saying that he sacrificed his nephew as an offering for 'Choru', a local term that refers to the sacrifice offered to deities for bountiful harvest before the start of the new cropping season, as reported by India Today.

"We received information that an uncle killed his nephew in Jadamunda village. We have detained Chintamani Majhi and seized the weapon used in the murder. Chintamani said he did it for 'Choru' but further investigation will reveal the actual reason behind killing," said the inspector-in-charge Nirmal Chandra Panigrahi.

In another similar case, a woman and her husband were allegedly hacked to death at a village in Pune district of Maharashtra on the suspicion that she was practising black magic, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday at Aundhe village, around 50 kms from Pune and the victims were identified as Lilabai Mukane (47) and her husband Navasu Mukane (55), police said.

Two persons, identified as Jaitu Borkar and Baban Mukane, were arrested by Khed police in this connection, they said.

According to a police officer, the deceased woman was a quack, but some people in the village, located in Khed tehsil, suspected that she was practising black magic.

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"A few days ago, Borkar's daughter had developed cyst in her abdomen. Borkar suspected that it due to the black magic is done by Lilabai," a senior officer at Khed police station said.

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"Baban's wife had also developed some rashes on her body and even he suspected that it was due to Lilabai's black magic," he added.