Offering for school?

India: Boy (7) probably killed in ritual murder

Police in India have arrested five suspects after a suspected ritual murder of a seven-year-old boy. According to the police on Friday, the boy was found dead in his bed in a hostel in the city of Hathras, not far from the famous Taj Mahal, on Sunday evening.

The principal had not called the police, but had hidden the boy's body in the trunk of his car. Investigator Himanshu Mathur said that the principal's father was suspected of having killed the seven-year-old boy as an offering to bring good luck to the school.

Post-mortem of the boy ordered
Apart from the principal and his father, three other teachers of the school in Hathras were also arrested. Mathur did not give any details about the circumstances of the child's death. According to reports, a post-mortem examination of the body has been initiated.

Occultism still widespread today
According to crime statistics, a total of 103 cases of human sacrifice were registered in India between 2014 and 2021. Such ritual murders are mostly about appeasing deities. These practices are particularly common in remote areas, where witchcraft and occultism are still widespread today.

Last year, police arrested five men for the murder of a 64-year-old woman who was killed and beheaded with a machete in 2019 after visiting a temple in north-east India. According to the police, the mastermind had staged the murder as part of a religious rite to mark the anniversary of his brother's death.