Human sacrifice: 'Mentally unsound' man kills 4-yr-old son in Chhattisgarh; arrested

A police official said that the accused is said to be of unsound mind, and he had earlier told his wife and other family members that he was having hallucinations and hearing voices asking him to sacrifice someone

Balrampur, Chhattisgarh: In a suspected case of human sacrifice, a 'mentally unsound' man allegedly killed his four-year-old son by slitting his throat in Chhattisgarh's tribal-dominated Balrampur district, police said on Monday.

The man's family members informed the police that he had claimed to be having hallucinations and hearing voices asking him to 'sacrifice' someone, they said.

The incident took place on the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday in Mahuadih village under Shankargarh police station limits following which the accused, identified as Kamlesh Nagesia (26), was arrested, a police official said.

After having dinner, the man, his wife and their two children slept in a room of their house.

The man later woke up and chopped a hen with a knife in the courtyard of the house. He then brought his elder son, who was asleep, in the courtyard and allegedly slit his throat, leading to his death, the official said.

When his wife woke up and did not find the child, she came outside and asked her husband about their son. The accused told her that he killed his child to 'offer sacrifice', the official said.

The woman informed other family members who live in the neighbourhood and villagers who then contacted the police, he said.

The accused was arrested on charges of murder, he said.

"The accused is said to be of unsound mind, and he had earlier told his wife and other family members that he was having hallucinations and hearing voices asking him to sacrifice someone," the official said.

He had earlier also tried to kill his mother, but his family members prevented him from doing so, he said.

An investigation is on into the case, the police added.