Man beheads mother in human sacrifice in West Bengal’s Purulia

Purulia (WB), April 9

A 55-year-old woman was beheaded in what is believed to be a case of human sacrifice in Barabazar in West Bengal’s Purulia district, police said on Sunday.

Phulia Mahato has been accused of having cut off his mother’s head with a 'khargo', a bladed weapon used for animal sacrifices, as an offering to Goddess Kali on Friday evening while she was cleaning a Kali temple at home.

Mahato, 35, is the youngest of the woman’s three sons. He took the bladed weapon he used to chop off his mother’s head to his brother’s house and claimed that his mother had offered herself before the idol, Superintendent of Police Joy Biswas said.

His brother came home with him to find his mother’s head severed from her body and lying in a pool of blood.

The suspect is believed to have confessed to the act during questioning and told the police that the goddess had told him to kill his mother as an offering for the family’s well being.

The suspect has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

"We are exploring all angles and possible motives," Biswas said.

Neighbours said the suspect frequently engaged in occult. — PTI