Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh): Two minor sisters were allegedly sacrificed in Devri village, Balaghat district, to appease god during the ongoing Navaratra festival, sources said on Wednesday.
The elder sister Vaishnavi was five and a half years, and the younger one Sonali was three years old.
The incident came to light on Tuesday when the bodies of the girls were found in the main canal connected with Rajiv Sagar dam under Tihori police station.
After murdering them, the criminal threw the bodies into the canal and the police divers fished them out.
The parents of the girls who collect Mohua were not present in the house when they were kidnapped.
In the absence of their parents, the elder brother of their father and also a neighbour Girdhari Sonwane allegedly kidnapped the girls on the pretext of outing.
As the girls did not return home in the evening, their father Gajanan Sonwane began to search for them.
When Gajanan could not find them he lodged a missing person’s report at the police station.
In the morning, when some forest officials found the bodies of two girls, they informed the police about it.
On getting information, superintendent of police Saurabh Sameer, additional superintendent of police Gautam Solanki and others rushed to the spot.
The police arrested Girdhari and found various items related to witchcraft practice in his home.
According to villagers, Girdhari who practises witchcraft was not keeping well. He thought that someone had cast an evil eye on him and wanted to get rid of that. Girdhari is married and has two children.
