India: Police arrest five over decapitating woman at temple as sacrifice in 2019
Kamakhya temple
Indian police in the northeastern state of Assam have arrested five men in connection withthe alleged sacrifice of a woman at a Hindu temple in the capital city of Guwahati in 2019. The discovery of the woman's headless body had perplexed the officers and the authorities at the time.
Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah on Tuesday said it was only after the body of the woman was identified in January earlier this year that the cold case was thrown into overdrive. A total of 12 culprits took part in the killing while seven remain at large.
“The five planned the killing of the woman. A total of 12 people took part," Barah was quoted as saying by AFP.
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An individual named Pradeep Pathak, a 52-year-old government worker, hailing from Varanasi, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has been identified as the lynchpin of the killing. He allegedly undertook the sacrifice to mark the anniversary of his brother's death.
“The accused apparently believed that the sacrifice would appease the soul of the deceased,” added Barah.
According to authorities, it was 64-year-old Shanti Shaw that was decapitated with a machete in 2019 at the Kamakhya Temple - one of the primary Shakti peeths (sacred place of eternal power) in Hinduism.
She had travelled to the temple to pray and attend the famous Ambubachi Mela before her tragic demise made the news. The body without the head was discovered on June 19-20, 2019. A man named Suresh Shaw from the state of West Bengal claimed that his mother had visited the temple but never returned.
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According to local media reports, the police have discovered a bag belonging to the victim, along with the Aadhar card and a train ticket to Guwahati.
Between 2014 and 2021, as many as 103 cases of human sacrifice have been reported in India, according to National Crime Records Bureau data.
(With inputs from agencies)
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