Odisha: Women trample minor to death
The puja' was supposed to provide cure' for the victim's illnesses.
BHUBANESWAR: In a spine-chilling religious superstition-related murder, — two unmarried college-going girls on Thursday night mercilessly beat up a 17-year-old girl with sticks and then crushed her to death under their feet at Bijapali village under Rengali police limits in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, the police said on Friday.
The incident occurred when the deceased, Sanjukta Jayapuria, along with her family members, was offering prayers to Lord Shiva at her home.
The puja, according to the statement given by the victim’s parents, was organised at the instance of a fake godman who promised them cure for their daughter from illnesses she had been suffering.
On Thursday evening, the fake godman, who claims to be representing the self-propagated Shivguru cult, sent the two accused girls — aged around 19 years and pursuing their graduation — to Sanjukta’s house to perform the ‘puja’ on his behalf. The accused first shaved the girl’s head and burnt hair near the puja altar. Then, they branded the girl’s body with burning incense sticks. When the girl moaned in pain, they beat her up with sticks.
When the parents opposed the inhuman treatment of their daughter by the accused, the latter attacked them too with sticks.
When the girl fell on the floor due to the beatings, the accused climbed on top of her and danced on her body untill she was crushed to death.
After the parents of the victim reported the matter to the villagers, the latter detained the accused by locking them up in a school building and informed the police.
The police took the accused into custody. “They have also confessed to the crime. A case has been registered and investigation is on,” said a police official.