The tiny Himalayan nation Nepal has been rocked by a case of human sacrifice. Nepalese man Kodai Harijan admitted committing the gruesome crime with his relatives after consulting a shaman. Harijan's son was not well and the shaman advised him "to chase away the evil spirits" who could be "pacified with human flesh," according to news.com.au.
Harijan chose 10-year-old Jivan Kohar to "pacify" the "evil spirits." Kohar's body was found on July 24 on the outskirts of the Kudiya village in southwest Nepal. The child had been reported missing three days earlier. Harijan testified before the police that he and his relatives had found Jivan playing with friends in the village and lured him away by giving him a pack of biscuits and promising him 50 rupees (49 cents).
They then took the boy to a temple on the outskirts of the village where they performed a religious ritual. He was then taken to a field nearby where three people held him down as another slit his throat. The boy's head was almost severed from his body completely when police found him, according to CNN.
"We have arrested 11 people, including four women, for murdering a 10-year-old boy," said Nal Prasad Upadhyaya, police superintendent of Nawalparasi district, according to news.com.au. "All the villagers say the boy was killed in a case of human sacrifice, because the suspects were superstitious and believed in witchcraft. But we cannot confirm anything until our investigations are completed."
Upadhyaya said five of those arrested will be charged with murder.
Out of Nepal's 28 million people, more than 80 percent are Hindus who frequently sacrifice animals such as goats, buffaloes and roosters, reports The Guardian.
Shaman healers and mystics are very popular in the Himalayan nation, especially in remote villages with poor access to healthcare.
