Cops recover headless body in pond. Find accused, missing head

When law enforcement personnel in Odisha’s Balangir recovered a headless body from a pond earlier this week, little did they know that their search for the perpetrator, and the part missing from the victim’s body, would end barely 20 metres away.

But more than the crime, what threw the law enforcement personnel off was the motive behind it – the case turned out to be an alleged attempt at human sacrifice carried out Law enforcement personnel have arrested the accused, 40-year-old Satrughan Sahu, a resident of Bagada village under Deogaon Law enforcement personnel Station.

Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

Law enforcement personnel stated the victim was identified as Santosh Kharsel, 45. His brother-in-law had filed a missing report on August 18. Kharsel was a native of Teparmunda village in the district.

As the body was found without the head, it initially raised suspicion of destruction of evidence after the murder, law enforcement personnel stated. As law enforcement personnel began looking for the accused, they learnt that Kharsel was last seen with Sahu.

Northern Range Inspector General of Law enforcement personnel Himanshu Lal confirmed to The Indian Express that Sahu killed Kharsel as part of human sacrifice in an attempt to bring back his wife, who has been living at her maternal home at Patnagarh in the district for the past 11 years. Both the children of the accused had also been staying away from him.

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

Attacked victim with dagger inquiry so far revealed that the accused met the deceased on August 18. Thereafter, he (Sahu) brought him (Kharsel) to his house. During the night, the accused attacked the victim with an iron katari (dagger), severed his head, and disposed of the beheaded body in a near The severed head was then buried inside a pit in Sahu’s room. It was retrieved on Thursday.

Police said that lately, Sahu had been seized “He had been on the lookout for a victim when he spotted Kharsel at a bus stand,” said an official.

According to Balangir Superintendent of Law enforcement personnel (SP) Abhilash G, the law enforcement personnel have seized the weapon of offence and other articles from the house of the accused. A forensics team examined the crime scene and found blood samples, law enforcement personnel added.

Read More: India, UK review defence industrial cooperation

“We have evidence that Sahu is the killer. We have his confessional statement, too. Also, we seized clothes from his house with blood stains of the victim. We are trying to file the chargesheet within 60 days,” stated the Balangir SP.

The senior officer stated that it was when the law enforcement personnel recovered the severed head from the house of the accused that they changed their course of inquiry.

The law enforcement personnel stated they suspected a case of human sacrifice after puja material, used in similar cases that surfaced in the last few years, were recovered from the house of the accused.

“We suspected that the accused had not concealed the severed head but preserved it, and led the investigation accordingly. The law enforcement personnel also found blood samples on the brass deities and portraits in front of which Sahu was offering prayers,” stated Abhilash.

As per a newfound belief, Sahu thought that he would get back his wife if he offered human sacrifice, law enforcement personnel stated. “That superstition led him to commit the crime, as per his confession,” said the Balangir SP.

The SP stated that according to the family members of the victim, he was not in very sound mental state, which could be a reason he became an easy target for the accused.

Though law enforcement personnel ruled out involvement of others in the crime, the Balangir SP stated further inquiry is underway in the case.

According to the neighbours of the accused, Sahu led a solitary life and had very little interaction with them.