Mumbai: The Bombay High Court refused relief to a man, who allegedly sacrificed a boy to appease the god. The man claimed he sacrificed the boy to get all his ailments cured.
A bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanty and Anant Badar last week turned down the bail application by Nanasaheb Doke.
Doke was booked by Pandharpur police under relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013. He was also booked under the IPC and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act sections.
According to the police, the 9-year-old boy went missing from the playground of his school on October 27, 2018. He was later found buried dead in the fields of Doke’s family.
The villagers informed the police about Doke, who usually indulged in inhuman, aghori and evil practices. Subsequently, Doke was arrested. The prosecution relied upon the confessional statements of the co-accused in the case, the deceased child’s uncle.
According to the prosecution, the co-accused uncle had confessed to his elder son he got the child sacrificed at the instance of Doke to see that his family recovered from the ailments.
On the other hand, Doke argued there was no legal evidence to link him with the present offence. Having considered the submissions, the judges noted the left leg of the child was amputated from the knee and the scalp hair of the child were removed.
“The left ear of the child and his neck were found partially cut. Several ladies inner wears were also found on the spot of the incident apart from the tube of hair removal cream,” the High Court bench noted.
The bench further relied upon the statements of villagers while turning down Doke’s plea.
“The witnesses have stated that the appellant/accused (Doke) used to indulge in inhuman, evil and aghori practices. Thus, considering the nature of offence as well as the material collected by the prosecution, in our considered opinion, the appellant/accused does not deserve bail,” the judges further ruled.
