Black magic suspected in murder

HUBBALLI: Tension gripped Shirakol village in Navalgund taluk of Dharwad district after two children were found dead on the village outskirts on Tuesday. Villagers suspect it to be a case of black magic as the one of the victims was beheaded. They were siblings and were found dead nearly one month after they had gone missing. The witchcraft materials found at the children’s house had fuelled suspicion among the residents.

Thirteen-year-old Nagaraj and his younger brother Akash (9) had gone missing from the village on September 24. Suspicion regarding black magic gained credence when needles, lime and other pooja materials were found on the roof of their house. The parents had lodged a complaint at Navalgund police station and the police had formed three teams, suspecting it be a case of kidnapping.

“We have searched for our children in adjacent villages after they went missing last month. But their bodies were found in a putrefied condition adjacent to the Tupri Halla stream. It must be a case of murder, as they cannot drown in the stream, which has almost dried up due to lack of rainfall. We are suspecting that our children were sacrificed for black magic by some miscreants,” said Suresh Betasur, the uncle of the deceased children.

However, police Superintendent Vanshi Krishna, who visited the village, said that he will order a thorough probe though they have not found any proof of black magic. The forensic experts of Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) conducted the post-mortem in the presence of deputy commissioner P. Rajendra Cholan.

Thousands of people from surrounding villages gathered during the cremation of the children.