The mother, father and maternal aunt of an 11-year-old girl from Virar have been arrested for murdering her by practicing exorcism to 'heal' her constipation
The mother, father and maternal aunt of an 11-year-old girl from Virar have been arrested for murdering her by practicing exorcism to 'heal' her constipation. The girl used to reside with her parents at Manwelpada, Virar East. She started suffering from constipation from December 15. Claiming to be a 'messenger of God', her mother told her father she could treat the child. She then called her sister home to perform the supposed remedies on the night of December 17.
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The mother, father and maternal aunt have been arrested. Pics/Hanif Patel
The two, who claimed to be possessed, then poured turmeric and vermilion on the girl's body after which her mother sat on her stomach. The sisters even went to the extent of inserting their hand in the girl's mouth and her private parts to remove the 'bad things' from her stomach. The girl kept shouting but they did not give her any chance to run away. The victim's father and 14-year-old brother also tried to stop the mother, but moved away after being slapped twice by the mother. When the mother saw that her daughter had become unconscious, she got frightened and informed her family about it. Her brother came to their house and rushed the child to the local hospital, but the doctor declared her dead before arrival.
After getting to know about what his niece had been through, the uncle informed the local police. When the cops spoke to the locals, they learnt that they'd heard the girl screaming late Saturday late night. Her body was sent to the JJ Hospital for autopsy where they found several external injury marks on her throat, chest, hands and private parts. Following this, a murder case was registered against the trio, who were later arrested on Tuesday night. Yesterday, they were produced before the court and remanded in police custody till December 23, said a police official from Virar police station.
In a similar incident a few months back, an 18-year-old girl from Latur district of Maharashtra was beaten up and forced to eat cow dung by a 'Mantrik' as a remedy for her sickness
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