India: Plan to 'bury daughter alive' for secret treasure fails, accused arrested

Police in the Indian state of Maharashtra have arrested the suspects after foiling an attempt to bury their daughter alive under the outdate...

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Police in the Indian state of Maharashtra have arrested the suspects after foiling an attempt to bury their daughter alive under the outdated ritual of "human sacrifice" to gain access to so-called hidden treasures.

 

There are no official figures for human sacrifice in India, but many children are killed in this ritual every year. * File photo

According to the AFP news agency, the police arrived at the scene a few moments before the burial of the living daughter at the hands of the father and arrested the father and his other accomplices.

 

Read more: India: 'Killer' arrested for pretending to be dead

In the state of Maharashtra, a father was about to kill his 18-year-old daughter at home with a Hindu Tantric and other accomplices, but police arrived on time and rescued the girl, according to foreign news agency AFP.

 

Police said they caught the gang performing a ritual and preparing to kill after receiving a tip from the girl friend.

Speaking to AFP, Yoatmal District Police Chief Dilip Bhajbal Patel said that they would have killed the girl at any time but we arrested her with red hands.

He said the victim heard her father talking about the project an hour before the start of the ritual and informed her friend about the danger to her life.

Read also: India: Murder of a citizen for skinning a dead cow

The daughter revealed that the father had dug a pit for burial in the courtyard of the house the day before his arrest.

However, a case of attempted murder has been registered against the group and the father is being interrogated separately on charges of sexually abusing his young daughter.

There are no official figures for human sacrifice in India, but many children are killed every year under this ritual.

In the last few weeks, two children have been killed in different parts of India under the rite of 'human sacrifice', one said to be seven years old and the other three years old.

Read more: India: Man arrested for burying daughter alive

In Odisha, police said a mother who had promised to "sacrifice a cat" at a local temple had beheaded her youngest son for failing to buy a goat.