Bhubaneswar: A 40-year-old man was arrested on Friday for allegedly beheading his close acquaintance in a suspected human sacrifice in Balangir district, a day after police recovered a beheaded body from a village pond.According to police, Santosh Kharsel (40), a resident of Bagada village in Deogaon area, was murdered on Aug 18.Police suspected that Kharsel had dinner with accused Shatrughna Sahu, of the same area, on the fateful night. When the victim went to sleep, the accused severed his head with a sharp weapon. Thereafter, he dumped the torso in the pond while burying the head in his own house. Police have recovered the head from Sahu’s house.According to the police, villagers alerted the authorities after spotting a headless body floating in a pond on Thursday. A police team rushed to the spot and launched an investigation. During the probe, investigators identified the victim and began questioning the local residents and people known to have been in contact with him before his disappearance.Police said suspicion soon fell on Sahu. During the questioning, he allegedly confessed to killing Kharsel and severing his head. Preliminary investigations indicate that the crime may have been linked to an alleged human sacrifice ritual driven by superstitious beliefs. “A detailed investigation is in progress. We are examining all aspects, including the motive behind the crime and whether anyone else was involved. The accused has been produced in the court today,” Balangir SP Abilash G said.Villagers said they were unaware of any dispute between the men, while some said that the accused was mentally unstable. “The man has been living in isolation for years now. Her wife left him 10 years back. We suspect that he was practising black magic and might have attempted human sacrifice in order to reunite with his wife,” a villager said.
