From Sandeep Sharma
GUWAHATI: A horrific story has come to light of how a 54-year-old father had sacrificed her five year old daughter before Goddess Kali only because of his ‘superstitious belief” that the girl is a ‘bad omen’ for the family as her mother had died soon after giving her birth four years ago.
The incident took place at a tea estate in upper Assam’s Charaideo district on August 8.
The accused father Anta Munda, who was arrested on Wednesday confessed to the crime before the police during interrogation.
Munda confessed that he and Bogadhar Munda, a preacher of Goddess Kali strangulated the child in a graveyard on Amavasya night (new moon day) on August 8 as they deemed the child was a ‘bad omen’ for the family as her mother had died soon after giving her birth four years ago.
Moreover, any ailments in the family were attributed to the ‘ill effect’ of the child. The duo after strangulating the helpless child threw the body into the river.
Anta Munda, who is a worker of the Safrai tea estate was arrested along with eight others after the body of the child was recovered from nearby Singlo River on Tuesday.
The body of the girl was noticed by a local youth. Puja materials used in the ritual were also recovered near the body of the minor.
The girl, youngest of five siblings, was kidnapped from her house while she was asleep on the night of August 8 and her eldest sister filed a missing complaint with Sefrai police station on Tuesday.
Some red cloth with ashes along with other materials used in tantric rituals were found on the riverbank, indicating that this could be a case of human sacrifice.
“We have arrested the father of the dead girl and another person for the killing. We have sought their remand from court for further investigation. The girl was a victim of superstition. Due to illiteracy many people in the rural areas still believe in superstition and black magic. They come under the influence of quacks and tantriks and do horrific things,” Charaideo superintendent of police Sudhakar Singh said.
In 2016, a four-year-old girl had gone missing from another tea garden in the area and her mutilated body was recovered a few days later.
