A man was caught in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur while allegedly performing a “tantric ritual” with a photograph of the chief justice of Chhattisgarh High Court in his efforts to secure bail for a relative, an official said on Sunday.
According to the official, the incident took place at a cremation ground in Devri village under Sipat police station limits on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, news agency PTI reported.
The accused has been identified as Rishikesh Kumar, and was performing the ritual with three other people. Kumar was apprehended after the villagers in Devri saw four men engaging in suspicious activities late at night, and confronted them on the alleged ritual. Thereafter, three of them ran away, but Kumar was caught and handed over to the police, superintendent of police (SP) Rajnesh Singh said, according to PTI.
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The accused, when questioned, allegedly told the cops that his relative, Priyanshu Bole, was under police custody along with a few others in a case of stabbing. SP Singh warned that strict action would be taken against anyone performing such rituals, saying those who had committed crimes must work on reforming themselves. “Bail can not be obtained by performing any ritual. Criminals should reform themselves,” SP Rajnesh Singh further said.
Fish, lemon recovered from site; accused watched ‘tantrik’ video before ritual
After Kumar was detained for questioning, cops recovered some ritual materials from the cremation ground. These included a fish, lemons, vermilion and photographs of Chhattisgarh HC chief justice Ramesh Sinha and two other persons, the SP said. One of the photographs recovered from the spot was of Priyanshu Bole, while another was that of the victim in the stabbing case.
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Kumar and his friends had further watched a video of a “tantric”, who claimed that a ritual could be conducted to help secure bail, before they visited the cremation ground, he told the police. He said that in the case his relative was arrested for, one accused had got bail, while the applications of the others were pending before the court. The SP said further investigation in the matter was underway.
