To ward off "evil spirits", family members of a 50-year-old man in Surat repeatedly jumped on his chest until he died, the police said today.
The man was identified as Kanji Kumbhar, a resident of Katargam in Surat.
"Mr Kumbhar's three sons, including a minor, a daughter, his daughter-in-law and wife were arrested for allegedly killing him while performing black magic on him on Saturday night," police inspector SM Joshi said.
The police said Mr Kumbhar's family members believed that he was "possessed" by "evil spirits."
"They decided to drive away the evil spirits by performing black magic on him," inspector Joshi said.
On Saturday night, the family first offered some adulterated water to Mr Kumbhar and then made him lie down on the floor on his back.
Following this, all of them started stomping on his chest despite knowing that he might die, the police said.
The family members left the body lying in the flat and went to stay elsewhere in the city.
After being alerted, the police recovered his body and sent it for post-mortem, inspector Joshi said.
"The post-mortem report revealed that Kumbhar died of shock and haemorrhage as a result of injuries to his spleen and lungs," he said.
"When questioned, his family members initially tried to mislead the police by making false statements about his death. However, later they revealed that Kumbhar died during the process of black magic," he added.
All six have been arrested under IPC sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 193 (punishment for false evidence).
