In a suspected case of occult practice, a man in Odisha’s Bolangir district allegedly beheaded a resident of a neighbouring village and buried the head in his puja room in an attempt to win back his estranged wife, police said.
The matter came to light last Thursday, Aug 21st after the decapitated body of Santosh Kharsel (45), a resident of Tebadamunda village, missing since August 18, was recovered from a pond in Bagada village.
Investigation revealed the victim was last seen with Satrughna Sahu (40). Sahu was detained and during interrogation he confessed to the crime- initially claiming the killing followed an intense argument after drinking liquor, a police officer said. Under further questioning, he admitted the act was an attempt to win back his wife, who had left him about three years ago, the officer said.
Following the confession, the victim’s head was exhumed from Sahu’s puja room, and he was placed under arrest.
Bolangir Superintendent of Police Abilash G said: “The accused and victim did not know each other. After meeting Kharsel, Sahu invited him to his house and killed him.” He added: “We have arrested the accused and also seized the murder weapon. Initially, we suspected that the accused threw away the head to mislead police. Exhumation of the head from the puja room revealed the human sacrifice angle.”
