A woman has been arrested for sacrificing a two-and-a-half-year-old boy in the Indian capital region after an occult practitioner advised her to do so, police said on Thursday.
The woman, identified as Santosh, and her nephew Pawan were arrested from Baprola village in the Nangloi area in suburban Delhi on Wednesday for the gory crime. The child killed has been identified as Rahul.
Santosh's husband, Vinod, is a commercial driver and has a drinking problem. A police official said Vinod allegedly kept torturing his wife under the influence of liquor.
Police sources said the cult practitioner had told Santosh that a child's sacrifice would improve her strained relationship with Vinod. The practitioner has since been absconding.
Satosh who was visiting her brother in Baprola village saw an opportunity in carrying out the black magician's advice when she saw Rahul roaming around a cowshed on Saturday.
The official said Santosh with assistance from Pawan took Rahul into the cowshed and strangled him to death. The woman punctured the child's head with a spade.
A police official said Pawan tried to stop Santosh from killing the child but later gave in and agreed to conceal the incident.