A 10-year-old boy was allegedly killed by his father in a bid to end a generations-old family tradition of serving as ‘bhuvo’, a spirit medium in the rural communities of Gujarat.
The incident happened in Vinchiya village near Gujarat’s Sanand city. Naresh, a 37-year-old farm labourer, was the local spirit medium. His father practiced the tradition before him. However, Naresh did not want another member of his family to take up the superstitious role after him, so he killed his son.
On the evening of November 1, around 7:00 pm, local residents heard screams of a brutal assault coming from near the family’s house and the local Jogani Mata deity’s altar. When family members and the police rushed to the scene at around 9:30 pm, they witnessed a horrific scene – the boy, 10-year-old Karan, lay lifeless on a cot with severe head injuries as his father slept on another cot beside him in blood-stained clothes.
Police found that Naresh, who worked as a farm labourer, had grabbed the boy by his legs, slammed him multiple times against the altar of the house deity, and struck him with a stick.
The mother of the child, Bharatiben, had left for her parental house about ten days before the murder following a domestic dispute. She left Karan behind because of his upcoming school exams.
Sanand police acted swiftly and solved the case within hours after Bharatiben filed a complaint and arrested the boy’s father. A formal case was filed under section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police have also seized evidence for forensic science laboratory analysis and are planning to conduct a psychological evaluation of the accused to understand what drove him to commit the crime.
