A 7-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur was found dead on Sunday and it is being reported that she was killed for an occult ritual.
Reports said the girl was found dead in Bhadras village in Kanpur and four men have been arrested.
NDTV reported that a couple paid two men, who were the girl’s neighbours, to perform an occult ritual. The men got drunk, tried to rape the girl and killed her.
The report said that they cut out her liver and presented it to the couple who paid them so that they could have children.
The accused have reportedly told the police they assaulted the minor and strangled her to death.
The Indian Express quoted Kanpur Nagar DIG Preetinder Singh as saying the girl went missing on the night of Diwali.
The report quoted Singh as saying, “Next morning, her mutilated body was found around a kilometer from the village near a jungle. Senior officers, along with forensic teams and dog squad, visited the spot and later we found that two youths from the neighborhood had abducted the girl on the pretext of giving her a packet of potato chips.The duo tried to sexually assault her, and when faced resistance they tied her hands.”
PTI reported that the accused have been charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken note of the heinous crime and directed officials to take strict action against the accused.
He has also directed the officials to extend a financial help of Rs five lakh to the victim’s family.
The chief minister has said the case would be heard in a fast-track court so that the accused are punished at the earliest.
(With PTI inputs)