Exorcism, kidnapping and ritualistic sacrifice — Bihar woman among 4 arrested for ‘killing toddler to help daughter conceive’

The matter came to light in the course of an investigation into the disappearance of the child, who was last seen on January 22 playing outside his relatives’ house in Lalapur village in Kaimur district. The boy, from Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, had travelled to Lalapur with his mother to attend a family function. A week later, the two-year-old’s body was found in a pit near Kudra railway station in the district.

Kaimur Superintendent of Police Hari Mohan Shukla said, “We have arrested one Munni Devi and four others. She admitted that she got the two-year-old kidnapped on the advice of an exorcist who said that sacrificing a male child would result in her daughter conceiving one.”

According to the SP, Devi said that her daughter had been under tremendous pressure from her in-laws to give birth to a child. When medical treatments did not help her daughter conceive, the woman decided to approach the exorcist.

The Kaimur SP said the exorcist had been identified and will be arrested soon.