Two held in Punjab on charges of human sacrifice

Chandigarh, April 20 (IANS) Punjab Police on Thursday solved a case of human sacrifice involving a middle-aged woman with the arrest of two persons, who attempted to kill the woman as part of sorcery to get wealthy.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the arrested persons, identified as Kuldeep Singh and Jasvir Singh, are both residents of Fatehgarh Sahib.

Balvir Kaur (50) was found injured in the fields near a canal in Ferozepur village on Wednesday morning. She is presently undergoing treatment at PGIMER in Chandigarh.

Bhullar said the accused were circus performers and used to perform cycle shows in villages. They met the victim through her son Dharampreet, who became friends with them eight months ago.

Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Ravjot Kaur Grewal said that both the accused, who aspired to become rich, came in contact with a tantrik' (sorcerer), who asked them to perform human sacrifice' of a woman.

Grewal said the accused on Tuesday called Balvir Kaur on the pretext of taking her to the tantrik' for paying obeisance, but instead took her to an isolated place in Ferozepur village where they attacked her using a sickle, resulting in grave injuries on her neck and other body parts.

"After receiving information from the villagers, the police launched a probe which led to the arrest of both the accused," Grewal said.