Human sacrifice rumours rock Chintamani

Bangalore: Amid rumours that a 12 year-old girl had almost been sacrificed by a tantrik searching for treasure, the Batlahalli police of Chintamani taluk, Chikkaballapur district have confirmed that the tantrik had not actually harmed the girl but performed a ‘pooja’ on her following a request from her family.

The twelve year old daughter of Jana­rdhan and Nagamani, from Batlahalli, was allegedly taken to Kollegal in Cham­raj­nagar on Monday morning by the tantrik identified as Basha (35) for a ‘ritual’. The minor is a student of class five in Shilpa School in Batlahalli.

The couple, who noti­ced that Basha had been performing various poojas for other people in the area to help solve their problems, allegedly decided to enlist his help as well. Janar­dhan’s family is said to have approached Basha to help Nagamani who reportedly suffered a paralytic stroke recently and to help improve the family’s well-being in general by performing certain rites and rituals.

Police said Basha and the minor were accompanied by the girl’s uncle, who was also present during the pooja that began around 9.30 am on Monday.

The girl was reportedly made to stand in front of a lemon and tulasi shrub, while the tantrik chanted mantras and performed a pooja on her. Basha then gave the girl three leaves to keep as part of the ritual.

Around 3.30 pm, the trio is said to have to returned to Batlahalli, where a verbal altercation reportedly broke out between Basha and the girl’s family. The cause of the argument is still unclear, according to police officials, who claimed that Basha was then beaten and handed over to the police.

However, the minor’s parents told the police that they did not wish to file a complaint against Basha. “We are trying to persuade them to file a complaint under the Black Magic Act; because we can not file a suo motu case. The girl has not been harmed, but we are still trying to determine the exact facts and what caused the argument. The rumours of him trying to sacrifice the girl to find treasure are not true. Basha is also being questioned, but he has not been detained yet,” said police officials.