Man beheaded in Bihar, torso burnt in ‘Holika’ fire as part of black magic ritual

A 65-year-old man was brutally beheaded, and his torso was burnt in the ‘Holika’ fire at a village in the eastern state of Bihar in India allegedly as part of a black magic ritual.
The deceased, identified as Yugal Yadav, went missing on March 13 from an area falling under the Madanpur police station, said Aurangabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Ambrish Rahul, reported news agency PTI. 
A case was registered, and a special investigation team was formed to find Yadav, who was a resident of Gulab Bigha village.

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According to police officials, four people have been arrested, including a relative of a ‘tantric’, in connection with the killing. The ‘tantric’ is, however, still on the run.

During the investigation, police found that some human bones had been spotted among the ashes of a Holika Dahan fire in the neighbouring village of Banger, the SP said.

Upon inspecting the site carefully, the police found charred human bones and slippers that belonged to Yadav.
When a dog squad was summoned to the spot, the sniffers directed the police to the house of Ramashish Rikyasan, a ‘tantric’. Since he was not present at the house, his relative, Dharmendra, was taken into custody because he gave conflicting statements about the tantric’s whereabouts.

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“During interrogation, Dharmendra confessed that he and others had kidnapped and beheaded Yugal Yadav as a part of black magic rituals. His torso was then burnt in the Holika Dahan fire. On the basis of Dharmendra’s statement, police recovered the victim’s severed head from a nearby field,” the SP said.

“The tantric had conducted a ‘black magic’ ritual on behalf of one Sudhir Paswan, who was seeking a child. Dharmendra also admitted that the group had earlier sacrificed a teenager, whose body was dumped in a well in the same locality,” he added.

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Police have arrested Paswan, Dharmendra, and two other persons, while a minor boy has also been taken into custody in connection with Yadav’s death.
“Our team has seized the weapon of offence and sent the recovered human bones for scientific tests, including DNA examination,” said the official, adding that a manhunt has been launched to hunt down the tantric.

(With inputs from agencies)