Bolangir/Titlagarh: Police unraveled the mystery surrounding the murder of a missing boy whose decapitated body was recovered from Unnder riverbed near Sindhekela in Bolangir district and arrested two persons including a cousin of the victim Saturday.
The decapitated body of nine-year-old Ghanashyam Rana alias Mithun, son of Hira Rana in Kumbharpada village under Sindhekela police limits in Bolangir district, missing since October 13 was recovered October 16.
The accused are Sobhaban Rana, a cousin of the victim and a native of Salebarat village, and a sorcerer Kunjabihari Rana whom the former believed as his ‘Guru’, said Titlagarh sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Saroj Mohapatra at a presser Saturday.
The accused were produced in a court and remanded in judicial custody.
Sobhaban was seriously disturbed over the regular infighting plaguing his family for which he consulted Kunjabihari and sought his advice. Kunjabihari advised him that the problem could be resolved and peace can be restored in his family by sacrificing a boy.
Later, the duo kidnapped Ghanashyam and sacrificed him on the Unnder riverbed. They admitted to this during interrogation by the police. A knife, a book on Tantric rituals and a motorcycle were seized from their possession.
The boy had gone to buy samosas from a shop October 13 evening. However, he did not return home. Family members searched for him, but in vain. Following a complaint, the police started searching for the boy, but there was no trace of him.
Three days later, the headless body was found near Sundhimunda, about 3km away from Sindhekela, by some fishermen.
The fishermen informed the locals following which family members reached the spot and identified the body.
Local police launched an investigation while the body was exhumed in the presence of the Titlagarh SDPO, additional tehsildar N Pradhan and Sindhekela IIC Ranjan Bariha and sent for post-mortem.
A forensic team along with a dog squad started collecting leads from the spot.
Earlier, locals had suspected it to be a case of human sacrifice as there was no injury mark on the body. The victim’s family members who did not have any enmity with anyone in the locality were left clueless.
PNN