Three held for minor’s murder in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - A husband-wife duo and a self-professed godman were arrested Friday in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar for killing a five-year-old boy, police said.

On the godman’s directions, the couple hacked the boy to death as they thought “the act would attain them prosperity and bring good luck”.

The victim, Abhimanyu, a resident of Lakhanpur village in Siddharthnagar, went missing Oct 21.

The three accused are residents of the same village.

“After registering the child’s missing report, we had been making every effort to trace the boy. During the process, we came across Abhimanyu’s blood-stained clothes near a river on the outskirts of the district,” police inspector S.N. Kannaujia told reporters in Siddharthnagar, some 300-km from Lucknow.

“As the hut of the godman Bheesham Das was near the site from where the clothes were recovered, he became our suspect. Before we could detain him for interrogation, he managed to leave Siddharthnagar,” he added.

Later, police learnt that Das had moved to Nepal, which is close to Siddharthnagar, and was expected to return to meet his relatives.

“As Das entered Siddharthnagar, we managed to nab him. During interrogation, he admitted that he instructed the couple - Sugreev Prasad and Ramrati - to sacrifice a minor in order to get blessed by a goddess for prosperity and good luck.”

“On the inputs provided by Das, we have arrested the couple who admitted killing Abhimanyu and throwing his body into the river after holding some prayers,” he added.