Chintamani Majhi attacked the deceased Dhansingh Majhi, his nephew with a sharp weapon and severed the minor’s... Read More

BHUBANESWAR: The police on Sunday confirmed a 12-year-old boy was sacrificed by his uncle at a remote village in Odisha's Nuapada district for better harvest this Khariff season . This tribal farmer, who severed the boy’s head with the help of an axe, confessed to the crime.

The incident happened on Saturday at Jadamunda village under Komna police station in the district, around 440 km from Bhubaneswar. A court on Sunday sent him to judicial custody .

Police said Chintamani Majhi , 48, and his nephew Debarchan Majhi , 18, elder brother of the deceased, had gone to their farmland to plough it. Dhansingh Majhi, the deceased, came to the farmland at around 9.30 am with food for his uncle and elder brother.

Later Chintamani asked Dhansingh to follow him to another farmland to cut a tree. The minor boy went with him. At around 10 am, Chintamani attacked the boy with a sharp weapon and severed the minor’s head.

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“After a few minutes, I heard cry of my younger brother from the nearby land. I thought he might have seen a snake or something. But I rushed to the spot immediately and found severed head of Dhansingh,” said Debarchan.

Chintamani fled from the spot sensing Debarchan’s entry. The elder brother immediately went to the local police station and informed the police about the incident.

Police recovered the severed body from the farmland and arrested Chintamani from the village. The accused confessed before the police that he did this to appease his goddess for a better harvest in the coming Khariff season.

“From his confession and circumstance, police found that it is a clear case of human sacrifice. The accused did this to get good harvest,” said Smith Parmar Parshottamdas, Nuapada SP.

Saban Majhi, father of the deceased, is working as a labourer in Andhra Pradesh to fund education expenses of his two sons. Chintamani has 2.5 acres of farmland near the village. Besides, he has 2 acres of forest land.

As an old belief, some tribal people practice choru (a local term for sacrifice) to get good yield. They sacrifice hen, goat or other animals. But killing a human being for choru is very rare, said a senior police officer.

