In a disturbing incident in India, a seven-year-old boy was allegedly murdered in a ritual sacrifice intended to bring good fortune to a public school. The tragic event occurred in the city of Hathras, near the iconic Taj Mahal, and has led to the arrest of five individuals, including the school director.
The child, who resided at the school’s hostel, was discovered dead in his bed on Sunday night. Rather than reporting the death to authorities, the school director, Dinesh Baghel, allegedly concealed the boy’s body in the boot of his car. According to police officer Himanshu Mathur, Baghel’s father conducted a black magic ritual, which involved the boy as part of a planned sacrificial ceremony.
“The boy was meant to be taken to an altar as part of a ritual but was killed before the ceremony could be completed,” Mathur stated. The director, his father, and three other teachers have since been arrested.
While authorities are still investigating the cause of the child’s death, with the body undergoing a post-mortem examination, the incident has sparked outrage and concern about the continued prevalence of ritual sacrifices in certain parts of India.
Ritual Sacrifices in India: A Dark Reality
This horrifying case adds to the list of human sacrifices documented in the country. According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 103 cases of human sacrifice were reported between 2014 and 2021. Such rituals, typically conducted to appease deities or seek supernatural blessings, are more common in tribal and remote areas, where belief in witchcraft and the occult remains widespread.
Last year, police arrested five men involved in the 2019 ritual murder of a 64-year-old woman in India’s northeast. She was decapitated as part of a religious rite marking the anniversary of a death.
This latest case has drawn attention to the persistent danger of ritual sacrifices in India and the need for greater enforcement of laws to prevent such horrific acts. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the seven-year-old boy’s death, hoping to bring justice for the young victim and raise awareness about the dark practice of human sacrifice.