Five arrested on charges of murdering child

Balasore, Mar 27 (UNI) Five people including four members of a family and a ''sorcerer'' were arrested today on the charges of murdering a five-year-old girl two and a half years ago.

The accused were identified as Harendra Sena and his wife, Bhagawati Sena, Abhiram Sena and his wife Annapurna Sena and the sorcerer Ganeswar Majhi (60) of Suryapur village.

Police said the accused family members in a bid to ward off evil spirit from their house had contacted a sorcerer who asked them to perform child sacrifice on new moon night.

The family members allegedly had kidnapped Chandini Sena, daughter of neighbour Uttam Sena, and committed the crime on October 27, 2003.

The body of the girl was fished out from a pond after two days of her disappearance. She had some injury marks on her body. The police had lodged an unnatural death case but a viscera test was conducted later to ascertain the cause of death.

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