Tantrik held for human sacrifice

A tantrik  allegedly beheaded a 10-year-old boy and has been arrested in yet another case of human sacrifice in Chhattisgarh, police said on Thursday.

Dilip Rathia was arrested for the death of Praveen, who went missing on February 5 and whose torso was found on February 20 in Punjipathra in Raigarh district, said superintendent of police Neha Pandey.

She said the accused confessed killing the boy. The tantrik told police that a deity appeared in his dream and asked him to behead the boy to obtain "divine powers". Police have seized the sword which was used in the crime.

The family of accused and the deceased belong to the same village Barpali, some 250 km from state capital Raipur. Chhattisgarh's vast backward rural areas throw up human sacrifice cases now and then.