HAZARIBAG: Police have arrested a 35-year-old mother, an occult practitioner, and a man in connection with the strangulation of a teenage girl during a sacrificial ritual in Kusumbha village, officials said on Wednesday.According to Hazaribag SP Anjani Anjan and DIG Anjani Jha announced the arrests during a late-night press briefing.The arrested include Reshmi Devi, the mother of the girl, 55-year-old Shanti Devi, an occultist, and 40-year-old Bhim Ram, all residents of the same village.Anjan said Reshmi Devi frequently visited a ‘tantrik’ in her village for the treatment of her youngest son, who suffers from physical and mental ailments.“The occult practitioner told the mother that they needed to sacrifice a virgin girl to cure the son of all ailments,” she said.The officer explained that on March 24, during the Ashtami night when the village was busy with Mangla Julus (Ram Navami procession) celebrations, the girl was strangled at Shanti Devi’s house, allegedly by her mother and Bhim Ram.Police claimed the tantrik inserted a wooden stick into the girl’s private parts, while Bhim Ram struck her head to collect blood for the ritual. The trio then buried her body in a garden.Anjan said the suspects tried to mislead investigators by claiming the girl had been raped, which was not confirmed by the postmortem or forensic report.Bhim Ram also faces allegations in the murder of his sister-in-law and another person, she added.The Jharkhand High Court took suo motu notice of the alleged rape and murder on Monday and issued notices to the state administration and the police chief. A division bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Sanjay Prasad acted after reviewing media reports.Earlier, the girl’s mother had claimed her daughter was abducted. The body was later found on March 25 in a village field.In protest against the killing, the Opposition BJP staged a 12-hour bandh in Hazaribag on Monday.
