Cuttack: A 50-year-old man was allegedly hacked to death by a temple priest inside a temple premises in Narasinghpur of Odisha's Cuttack district, police said on Thursday.
The accused priest identified as Sansari Ojha (73), allegedly killed Saroj Pradhan by beheading him inside the temple at Bandhahuda village under Narasinghpur police limits in Cuttack district last night.
The accused is claiming that he "performed a human sacrifice to end the COVID-19 pandemic" and confessed to having committed the murder.
According to police, an argument erupted between the priest and Pradhan at the temple over 'sacrifice'. The situation took an ugly turn after Ojha hacked Pradhan with a sharp weapon killing him on the spot. Soon after committing the crime, Ojha surrendered himself at the local police station late Wednesday night.
On the basis of the statement of the accused, Police reached the spot and recovered the body for post-mortem. Police have also seized an axe, which was used as the murder weapon.
"Ojha claimed he had received an order from the Goddess in his dream to perform a human sacrifice to end the COVID-19 pandemic," a police officer said.
"However, the actual cause behind the crime is yet to be ascertained. Locals claimed that Ojha had a long-standing dispute with Pradhan over a mango orchard in the village. Following the dispute, he might have taken such a step. Further investigation into the incident is underway. The detailed information will be disclosed after getting the post-mortem report," the police officer added.
