In a bizarre incident, a man from Mathura has been arrested for allegedly killing his four-year-old on the advice of an occultist. The police said that the child was the nephew of the accused. Devendra alias Kanjar was arrested on Friday from Sujavali village in the district.

"He has confessed to having killed his nephew Amit on the advice of a 'tantrik'," Superintendent of Police (SP) Aditya Kumar Shukla said. The accused also said that he had visited the tantrik as he wanted to have a boy child, the officer claimed, adding that Devendra hid the victim's body in a pit after killing him with a brick, PTI.

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The boy's father, Tejpal, in his complaint had said that his son went missing on October 6 evening when he was playing in front of his home, the SP said. Suspicion grew after Devendra claimed that he had found the body when villagers were searching for the boy, Shukla said.