Daijiworld Media Network - Cuttack (SD)

Cuttack, May 28: Believed to be guided by superstitions, a priest at Bandhahuda in Cuttack allegedly sacrificed a 52-year-old man to please the goddess to prevent coronavirus.

The man identified as Saroj Pradhan was the one to have been beheaded by the temple priest Sansari Ojha (70) inside the Maa Bramhanidei Temple premises on Wednesday, May 27. Ojha believed that the sacrifice would ease the ongoing pandemic, police sources said.

The deceased worked on an agricultural land near the temple and would take rest at the temple premises. The accused, soon after committing the crime, locked the door of the washroom from outside and headed to the police station to surrender.

“The priest beheaded Pradhan with the help of a chopper inside his restroom adjacent to the temple. He surrendered before Narasighpur police at midnight," Athagarh SDPO Alok Ranjan Ray said.

Ray said that the priest believed himself to be divinely ordained to carry out the sacrifice in order to keep the coronavirus at bay and, therefore,  beheaded Pradhan to please the goddess.

As soon as the priest confessed the crime, the police rushed to the spot and found the beheaded body lying along with the chopper.

“A scientific team has visited the spot. We are investigating the crime from different angles. Though the accused has confessed to carrying out a human sacrifice to appease the goddess for keeping coronavirus at bay, we suspect he may have killed Pradhan after a sudden provocation as both had shared weed in the restroom,” Ray added.

The body was sent for postmortem and further investigations are being carried out.