Severed head found at Goddess Mahankali temple in Telangana, murder or human sacrifice?

In a shocking incident, the severed head of a man was found by locals at Mahankali temple at Gollapalli village in Chinthapally mandal of Nalgonda district on Monday.

Hyderabad:In a macabre incident, the decapitated head of a man was found by locals at the feet of the idol of Goddess Mahankali at Mettu Mahankali temple at Gollapalli village in Chinthapally mandal of Nalgonda district on Monday. According to the police, the deceased was around 35 years while rumours are doing the rounds that it could be a case of human sacrifice for hidden treasure. However, the police suspect that he may be murdered elsewhere, but his head was placed at the feet of the Goddess to mislead the cops.

Police under the supervision of DSP Anand Reddy inspected the spot and took up investigation. The head photo was posted on social media in order to identify the deceased. According to sources, the deceased was identified as Jahender Nayak, 30, of Sunyapahad village in Suryapet district.

Police suspect the murder was a human sacrifice and they kept tabs on former criminals in the wake of earlier incidents of human sacrifice for hidden treasure in Shaligauraram, Nampally, Mushtipalli and Devarakonda guttas in the district. ‘

The deceased Jahender Nayak was mentally challenged and was wandering for the past five-and-a-half years. It is learnt that for a few years, he had stayed at a temple at Turkyamjal near Ibrahimpatnam in Rangareddy district. A team was formed to solve the murder mystery, said the DSP.

The head was shifted to the Devarakonda Government Hospital while the hair and skin were sent to Hyderabad for DNA tests. Police found that there was no trace of blood where the head was found while mud and grass stuck to the head. So, they had come to the conclusion that he was killed somewhere and dumped here. On the other hand, the Clues team and dog squads were pressed into service to collect the evidence.

The dog squad roamed the village of Kurmed, one-and-a-half km from Viratnagar Colony, entered the Punjab National Bank premises and stayed there for a while. Meanwhile, a team of two CIs and eight SIs under the supervision of Nalgonda CCS DSP Mogulaiah is collecting CCTV footage and other evidence in order to identify the culprits.