25 Nov 2010

Indian 'child sacrifice' murder claims

Police in central India reported a second case of suspected child sacrifice on Thursday, casting a spotlight on witchcraft and occult beliefs that persist in some impoverished areas.

Police in the central state of Chhattisgarh said they had arrested 11 people including a "witchdoctor" and his wife after the body of a two-year-old boy was discovered in their house on Wednesday.

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Further searches of the property in the industrial town of Bhilai, about 45 kilometres (30 miles) from state capital Raipur, revealed the skeletal remains of a second victim, a six-year-old girl.

The accused man had confessed to killing both children to acquire "occult power and good fortune," police told AFP on Thursday, adding that there was a "worship room" in the home.

"The witchdoctor, his family and six other people have been arrested on suspicion of holding human sacrifices," district police chief Amit Kumar told AFP.