Balangir: The body of a 13-year-old boy was recovered from a forest near Jhalialiti village, under Lathor police limits in Odisha's Balangir district on Friday sparking allegations of murder for sacrifice. The child Somanath Bivar had been missing since Thursday, and his family has accused an unknown person of killing him as part of a ritual sacrifice.
Somnath, the son of Tapan Bivar from Jalpankel village, was last seen at around 4 PM on Thursday. When his parents could not locate him, they informed the villagers and relatives. After an extensive search yielded no results, they filed a missing persons report at the local police station. The next day, on Friday morning, his body was found in the forest.
The family members stated that someone had attempted to bury the body but left it exposed. "We are sure this is a case of human sacrifice and someone did this to my son as it was full moon night when such rituals are common," said an inconsolable father Tapan. The family members along with hundreds of villagers had frantically searched for the child all night but to no avail. "We kept awake all night to search for Somnath but he was found no where," said a villager Narayan Hans.
Angered by the incident, villagers and the victim’s family staged a blockade on Nuapada road, demanding the arrest of those responsible. After the police were informed, they reached the spot and initiated an inquiry. A scientific team and dog squad have also been investigating from all angles.
"A suspect from the village has been detained and is being questioned. We suspect that the murder may be linked to prior family enmity," said Patnagarh SDPO Sadananda Pujari confirming that after the family filed a complaint, police had immediately started searching for the child. "Investigations are ongoing, and all possible angles, including the family’s allegations, are being looked into," he added.
Instances of human sacrifice as a part of ritual or superstitious belief have been reported from many states in the country. Though there are laws prohibiting practices like sorcery, black magic and superstitious beliefs, these continue unabated in the remote villages. Recently, in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, police arrested several individuals connected to DL Public School after the death of an 11-year-old boy, Kritarh, who was allegedly sacrificed as part of a ritual to enhance the school's fortune. The school's owner is believed to have orchestrated the act. The boy was allegedly abducted, strangled, and later misrepresented as being taken for medical assistance. A few months back, a shopkeeper in Ambala was allegedly murdered by a woman who said that a goddess appeared to her in a dream demanding a human sacrifice. Last year, Odisha police arrested a traditional healer and her three sons for allegedly killing a 14-year-old boy in the Angul district.
As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total of 103 ritualistic sacrifices have occurred in the country from 2014 to 2021. While 2015 recorded the highest 24 cases, 2018 saw the lowest, with four cases. Chattisgarh recorded the highest number of human sacrifices between 2014-2021, with 14 cases, while Karnataka recorded 13 followed by Jharkhand with 11.
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