Bhubaneswar: The Kiakata police in Odisha’s Angul district have taken four persons, including a woman priest, into custody on Saturday on allegations of human sacrifice of a 14-year-old boy.
While the deceased has been identified as deceased Sanchit Biswal, the accused include a woman priest Ritanjali Bagh of Tusara village, her associate, and her two sons.
According to reports, Sanchit’s mother Basanti took him to the ashram of Ritanjali, a self-proclaimed traditional healer, for treatment on July 22. Sanchit has been ailing for some time and, despite undergoing treatment at various places, the boy’s condition did not improve. As the healing was not completed on that day, Basanti and Sanchit were asked to spend the night at the ashram. The mother and son had their dinner and slept in separate rooms. On the following day, Basanti found her son missing.
She lodged a missing complaint at the Kiakata police station on the same day and the police recovered Sanchit’s body hanging from a tree in Barini forest on July 28. The body was not only decomposed but the lower portion was separated from the upper portion. The police sent the body for post-mortem and launched an investigation into the matter. A scientific team was engaged and a dog squad was pressed into service.
Suspecting foul play by the ashram, local residents launched a violent protest on July 29 and even torched a police vehicle. Soon after this, police picked up the four accused and detained them for interrogation.
Angul SP Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra said that the police are investigating the case from different angles and looking into the people with whom the victim’s family came in contact during the last few days. In addition, the police are probing the ‘human sacrifice’ allegations against Ritanjali and the ashram.
