To father son, man sacrifices daughter

In an incident reflecting prevalence of superstitions and the attitude of the society towards girls, a man allegedly sacrificed his two-month-old adopted daughter on the direction of a tantrik so that he could be blessed with a son in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, about 60 kilometers from here.

The shocking incident occurred at Mawain village in the district on Thursday, according to the police sources. The couple has been arrested by the police.

Sources said that Shiv Prakash Kushwaha had married Gudia a few years ago but the couple had no child. They had been making rounds of the sadhus and tantriks for past few months as they desperately wanted a son.

Adopts abandoned girl

Kushwaha found an abandoned girl child outside Nihwai village in the district in April this year. Since he had no children, he brought her home.

Even after having the girl, the couple continued to visit the tantriks for want of a son. One Baba Shanker Das told the couple that if they sacrificed a child during a special puja, they could be blessed with a son.

The couple took the girl to the Baba’s ashram at Hasanganj in the district on Thursday where she was beheaded in the night after the puja.

The locals however nabbed the duo after they came to know about the sacrifice but the tantrik managed to escape.

Police recovered the beheaded body of the infant from the spot. A case has been registered and a hunt has been launched to nab the tantrik, sources said.

Earlier also children had been sacrificed by the people for hidden treasure and also for having son.

A few months ago, a nine-year-old boy had been sacrificed in Bareilly for hidden treasure.