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Man held on charge of preparing to sacrifice son

CUTTACK: Wishing to be rich and powerful overnight and gain some hidden treasure including gold, a middle-aged person was arrested for allegedly preparing to sacrifice his five-year-old to propitiate the Goddess.

The Choudwar police have rescued the boy on Thursday including his mother who was under house arrest for the past fortnight.

According to reports reaching here, the incident had occurred in a remote village of Banipada under Choudwar police station, about 25 kms from here and it has sent shock waves in the locality. Police said Susanta Behera (35), a tractor driver was engaged in performing various puja and rituals in his house with the help of many priests for last two months.

“He was in the belief that there was a temple underneath his house with some hidden treasure in it.

With a wish to obtain the underground fortunes he was performing pujas.

For his unusual behaviour during these days his house was out of bound for other locals.

Susanta had even covered his house with polyethylene sheets”, said the officer-in-charge of the local police station S.K.Mallick.

But when some neighbours on Thursday morning noticed that his son Shankar’s head completely shaved, they suspected Susant was up to some foul play.

Some youths then raided his house to find that Susant had dug a huge pit inside his house and his wife was tied in a rope.

Sanjukta when rescued by the villagers alleged that her husband was planning to sacrifice their only son at the altar of the Goddess to become richer.

On the basis of Sanjukta’s complaint the police have registered a case and has arrested Susanta.

“We are investigating into the matter and are trying to trace the priests who had performed puja in his house”, Mallick said on Friday.

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