Kolkata: Ramapada Manna, who was arrested by the West Midnapore district police on Tuesday, has admitted to beheading a girl as an offering to the gods for prosperity and good luck.
On Tuesday morning, locals saw the chopped head of a girl floating by the side of an irrigation canal leading to commotion within the area. “During initial investigation we were able to locate the body of the girl, which was found inside a vegetable field. We noticed that somebody has performed some rituals by the body, as [an] incense stick, vermilion and other materials were found besides it. it led us to believe that the murderer was a believer of black magic,” said an investigating officer.
Upon further inquiry, they leant that a local resident was a strong believer in such practices and police was able to get hold of his mobile number, which was traced back to a suburb in Kolkata from where Ramapada was arrested along with his father, mother, wife and in-laws.
“He has admitted to having killed the girl as an offering to the goddess. He also admits of having being a practitioner of black magic,” said Additional Superintendent of police of West Midnapore district Srihari Panda.
However, Rampada is yet to reveal the identity of the victim. “He used to perform as a magician in village feast from where he had collected books on black magic and other such rituals. As he slowly got induced to it, he started to believe that offering a woman as sacrifice to god will improve his luck and he will become rich,” added Srihari.
Though the girl’s identity is yet to be established, police officials believe that she may have been just an acquaintance who Ramapada met at a local bus stand and was charmed by his words as he claimed he could solve her problems by using black magic.
Sociologists believe that lack of education and awareness is the root cause of such incidents. “[I] shudders to believe that a human being is still being offered as a sacrificial lamb to appease gods in an era where the world is on your palm. Unless education is given where people are able to overcome such beliefs the country will not be able to progress,” said Sunil Das, a professor of social science.
Non-governmental bodies working in the area say superstition still holds sway for millions in West Bengal where it governs every aspect of their life. In certain cases it reaches such dismal proportions that it leads to crime, said Sunita Mukherjee, who runs an charitable body for education of elderly in the district.
