Indian man 'sacrifices' five-year-old girl for male child

A rural Indian witch doctor beheaded a five-year-old girl as part of a bizarre ritual to help a villager produce healthy male heirs, police said yesterday. Vandana Kumari was murdered on Tuesday in Lakhimpur Kheri district, 200 kilometres from the...

A rural Indian witch doctor beheaded a five-year-old girl as part of a bizarre ritual to help a villager produce healthy male heirs, police said yesterday.

Vandana Kumari was murdered on Tuesday in Lakhimpur Kheri district, 200 kilometres from the Uttar Pradesh state capital Lucknow, said police officer Ravi Srivastava.

Occult practitioner Mewalal Chauhan recommended the "human sacrifice" when the child's neighbour Ram Niwas came to him for help, Mr Srivastava said.

"Ram Niwas had sons but none of them survived infancy. His brother too was ailing. The 'tantrik' Mr Chauhan said a human sacrifice was necessary to get rid of these problems," added Mr Srivastava.

The witch doctor, his male assistant andMr Niwas lured the little girl into a field where Mr Chauhan cut off her head after prayers and rituals, the police officer said.

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