11 villagers arrested for allegedly sacrificing a 10-year-old boy

A father's devotion to his sickly son has led to a gruesome human sacrifice in Nepal.

The Himalayan Times reported that Kodai Harijan, 35, allegedly murder his neighbour's 10-year-old so as to cure his sickly 18-year-old son.

AFP reported that the incident occurred in a village in the Nawalprasi district, which lies south-west from Nepal's capital of Kathmandu.

Nawalprasi district. PHOTO: GOOGLE MAPS

The Himalayan Times reported that a traditional shaman had advised Harijan that he had to sacrifice the boy, named Jivan Kohar,  to get rid of the evil spirit which had inhabited his 18-year-old son's body which made him sick.

Following that advice, Kodai then lured Jivan, who was playing in his house, outside with biscuits.

With the help of his brothers, Rudal Harijan and Suryabhan Harijan, as well as his sick son, Bijayan, they brought the boy to the temple where shaman Ganga Harijan helped to preside over the ritual.

In an interview with The Kathmandu Post, Kodai said: "Rudal snatched the head and arms, Suryabhan grabbed the legs and I slit his throat with a sickle.” 

The Kathmandu Post reported the body of Jivan Kohar was found dead with his throat slit in a bush near a temple just outside the village of Thursday (July 23).

Kodai was arrested after his wife told the police that her husband was the one who murdered the boy.

As of Sunday (July 26), Nal Prasad Upadhyaya, police superintendent of Nawalparasi district said that the three brothers, Kodai's sick son and the shaman were arrested for the murder. Another six villagers were also arrested.

It is not clear from media reports, though, how the other six were involved in the boy's murder.

Kodai said that while he felt remorseful, he did what he did to cure his sickly son.

Shaman healers and mystics are a common presence in the Himalayan nation, especially in remote villages with poor access to healthcare.

Source: AFP, The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times