In a bid to ward off ‘evil spirits’, the family members of a 50-year-old man in Surat repeatedly jumped on his chest until he died, the police said today.
The deceased man is identified as Kanji Kumbhar, a resident of Katargam in Surat.
According to police inspector SM Joshi, “Kumbhar’s three sons, including a minor, a daughter, his daughter-in-law and wife were arrested for allegedly killing him while performing black magic on him on Saturday night.”
The police also added, Kumbhar’s family members believed that he was ‘possessed’ by ‘evil spirits’.
SM Joshi further added, “They decided to drive away the evil spirits by performing black magic on him.”
On Saturday night, the family initially offered some adulterated water to Kumbhar and then made him lie down on the floor on his back.
Following this, all the members of the family started stomping on his chest, despite knowing the fact that he might die, the police said.
After the incident, the family members left the body lying in the flat and went to stay somewhere else in the city.
Inspector Joshi said, after the neighbours alerted the police, the body was then recovered by the police and sent for post-mortem.
He also said, “The post-mortem report revealed that Kumbhar died of shock and haemorrhage as a result of injuries to his spleen and lungs.”
Commenting on the matter he further added, “When questioned, his family members initially tried to mislead the police by making false statements about his death. However, later they revealed that Kumbhar died during the process of black magic.”
According to a report, all six family members have been arrested under IPC sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 193 (punishment for false evidence).
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