Andhra Pradesh shocker: Man beheads 5-year-old as human sacrifice ritual

ONGOLE, Oct 1: In a shocking incident, a five-year-old boy was murdered by a man allegedly in the name of human sacrifice ritual. The gruesome incident occurred in Prakasam district here.

Reportedly, the accused Tirumala Rao said to be in his mid 30s beheaded the boy as part of a witchcraft-related ritual. Rao took the boy from an anganwadi (child care centre) to his house, where he performed pujas. He then cut the boy's head, collected the blood into a vessel and sprinkled it all over his house, locals said.

Narrating the incident, the Kandukur Circle Inspector M Lakshman said that the horrific incident took place on Thursday afternoon in Pokuru village under Voletivaripalem mandal. The accused was later thrashed and set ablaze by locals after the murder came to light.

The incident came to light when the victim's mother went to the anganwadi. Not finding her son there, she enquired and was told he has gone with Rao, police said. The woman went to Rao's house along with a group of villagers and found it locked.

They broke the lock and found the boy's body in the house. Villagers launched a search for Rao and managed to get hold of him. They tied him to a pole, thrashed and set him ablaze after pouring kerosene, police said.

After coming to know about the matter, police rushed to the village and rescued Rao, who was first taken to a local hospital and then shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ongole, the district headquarters, for treatment. Superintendent of Police C Srikant visited the village to get details of the incident. Lakshman said police have filed a case and investigation was in progress.

OneIndia News

(with inputs from agency)