Man kills niece for prosperity

GONDA - Acting on the directions of a self-professed godman that killing of a minor girl would bring him prosperity and good luck, a man buried his eight-year-old niece alive in this Uttar Pradesh district Tuesday, police said.

Shiv Kumar, a resident of Bangharanpurwa village in Gonda, some 150 km from Lucknow, buried his niece Manau alive in fields on the outskirts of the village.

“When the victim’s family members approached us to register a missing report for Manau, we started investigating the matter. Later it was revealed that Manau was last seen with her uncle,” police inspector S.P. Singh told reporters.

“When we interrogated Shiv Kumar, he confessed to his crime and said it was committed on the directions of a ‘tantrik’, who is absconding,” he added.

Shiv Kumar was in touch with the godman for the last several months.