In a chilling crime driven by blind faith and superstition, a 10-year-old boy was brutally murdered in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly as a ritual human sacrifice. The prosecution revealed that the accused was misled into believing the act would cure his own ailing child.
The Tragic Motive Behind the Killing
Additional District Government Counsel (Criminal) Sunil Jaiswal stated on Friday that the convicted accused, Anoop Verma (27), had a frequently ill two-year-old son named Satyam. Despite repeated medical treatments, the child's condition showed no improvement. Exploiting the family's distress, a tantrik allegedly convinced Anoop that sacrificing a child from within the family would bring relief, prosperity, and good fortune.
"Taking advantage of the family's distress, the tantrik allegedly convinced Anoop Verma that sacrificing a child from within the family would bring relief," Jaiswal explained, detailing the motive behind the gruesome crime.
A Planned and Brutal Act
The victim chosen was Anoop's cousin—the son of his paternal uncle—a close family member who trusted the accused completely. The prosecution outlined the calculated plan executed on the day of the incident.
Most family members, including the victim's parents, Anoop's wife, and his sick child, had gone to his in-laws' house for a mundan ceremony. Anoop deliberately stayed back. When the 10-year-old boy returned home from school in the evening, Anoop lured him on the pretext of buying toffees and took him to a nearby agricultural field.
There, in a premeditated act, Anoop Verma brutally attacked the innocent boy with a spade and slit his throat.
Forensic Evidence Points to Ritual Killing
The medical and forensic evidence presented before the court painted a horrifying picture of the attack. The examination confirmed the child suffered nine grievous injuries. The cause of death was established as ante-mortem damage to the trachea, a pattern consistent with a ritualistic killing.
This tragic incident in Bahraich underscores the deadly consequences of blind faith and superstition, where desperation and misinformation led to the loss of a young life within a family. The case highlights the ongoing battle against such deep-rooted beliefs in parts of the country.
