Kali, the Indian goddess of destruction and rebirth, whom we previously met here and here, seems to have needed fresh sacrifices.

A four year-old-boy has been beheaded in a gruesome “human sacrifice” ritual in a rural village in southern India. Indian media report [that] a 35-year-old man abducted the little boy as he was returning home from nursery in the remote Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh state. The man, named as Tirumala Rao, is reported to have beheaded the child in a ritual to honor the Hindu goddess Kali and he was alleged to be seeking “divine powers,” according [to] the Times of India.

The locals were outraged when they learned what had happened.

Villagers then attempted to lynch Mr. Rao, tying him to a pole, throwing kerosene on him and setting him on fire, reports the Indian Express. Village elders rescued him from the mob and called the police. He was taken to hospital with 40 per cent burns. Local police chief Ch SriKanth told the Hindu newspaper: “This is a first-of-its-kind incident in Prakasam district. Once he recovers, he will be subjected to questioning after an examination of his mental condition by a psychiatrist.” He said Mr. Rao was rumoured to have a history of links to people who perform tantric rituals and earlier made an unsuccessful attempt to abduct a young girl.

It may be the first time that such a tragedy has happened in Prakasam district, but it’s not news that Kali worshipers sometimes kill children and offer them to their bloodthirsty deity.

Two years ago, an Indian father murdered his eight-month-old infant with an axe, as a sacrifice to Kali.

And in 2006, according to the Guardian, a family that had been plagued by nightmares featuring the goddess

… crept to their neighbor’s home and abducted three-year-old Aakash Singh as he slept. They dragged him into their home and the eldest son performed a puja ceremony, reciting a mantra and waving incense. Sumitra smeared sandalwood paste and globules of ghee over the terrified child’s body. The two men then used a knife to slice off the child’s nose, ears and hands before laying him, bleeding, in front of Kali’s image.

That little boy joined a body count of at least twenty-nine human sacrifices in western Uttar Pradesh alone, just in the four months before the publication of the Guardian article.

More here and here.

(Image via Moral Compass)



