Chandigarh, April 20 (IANS) Punjab Police on Thursday solved a case of human sacrifice involving a middle-aged woman with the arrest of two persons, who attempted to kill the woman as part of sorcery to get wealthy.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the arrested persons, identified as Kuldeep Singh and Jasvir Singh, are both residents of Fatehgarh Sahib.
Balvir Kaur (50) was found injured in the fields near a canal in Ferozepur village on Wednesday morning. She is presently undergoing treatment at PGIMER in Chandigarh.
Bhullar said the accused were circus performers and used to perform cycle shows in villages. They met the victim through her son Dharampreet, who became friends with them eight months ago.
Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Ravjot Kaur Grewal said that both the accused, who aspired to become rich, came in contact with a tantrik' (sorcerer), who asked them to perform human sacrifice' of a woman.
Grewal said the accused on Tuesday called Balvir Kaur on the pretext of taking her to the tantrik' for paying obeisance, but instead took her to an isolated place in Ferozepur village where they attacked her using a sickle, resulting in grave injuries on her neck and other body parts.
"After receiving information from the villagers, the police launched a probe which led to the arrest of both the accused," Grewal said.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Director Atul Garg, a call about tilting of a building was received in Shakarpur area on Vikas Marg in east Delhi. Strong tremors, lasting a few seconds, shook most of north India on Tuesday evening, creating panic among people.
The Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here recovered 28 gold bars worth Rs 1.15 crore after rummaging two IndiGo flights, officials said. A Customs official said that the action was initiated on Saturday on the basis of intelligence inputs received by them.
The petitioner also requested the apex court to direct the media to desist from reporting on criminal proceedings, to prevent further shaming and embarrassment for the 72-year-old victim and the perpetrator.
On March 6, Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court sent Sisodia to 14 days of judicial custody in CBI case, which expired on Monday. He is lodged in the national capital's Tihar jail.
She has claimed to the police investigators that her mother died under natural circumstances, allegedly due to a fall on December 27. But since she was scared of getting the blame for it, she resorted to a web of lies and deceit to fool the relatives and the neighbours.
The deceased include four women. Seven others were rescued by fire service personnel. Hyderabad District Collector Amoy Kumar said the victims died of suffocation due to the smoke.
