A self-styled exorcist killed a two-and-a-half-year-old boy in the name of "sacrifice" in Kheragarh tehsil of the Agra district.

The accused, Bhola alias Hukam Singh, a self-styled exorcist who was arrested by the police on Tuesday night, killed Hrithik “to please Chamad Mata” in the village.

As per the police, the accused confessed that on June 15, he kidnapped the son of Ramavatar, a resident of Barigwan, after seeing him playing alone near a well and took him to his room and strangled him to death and placed the toddler's body at the feet of the deity.

The self-styled exorcist later put Hrithik's body in a sack and hid it in the bushes. The body was recovered by the police and the villagers on June 16 last. The police, however, zeroed in on the accused on Tuesday night, and he told the police that at 4 o'clock in the morning of June 16, he had thrown the child's body in the dry river Kibar.

It is learnt that one Sheru of the village saw Bhola taking Hrithik with him but was threatened by the exorcist of dire consequences if he disclosed it to anyone. Despite the threat, Sheru mustered courage and provided a tip-off to the police which finally led to the arrest of the accused.

Agra’s Superintendent of Police (West) Satyajit Gupta said that the victim's father had filed a missing complaint on June 16. Gupta said that the accused had killed the boy "for sacrifice" after his exorcism was not working.

Sources also confirmed that Bhola tried to take advantage of a property dispute between two families. He believed that offering a young child to the goddess would solve his problems. He chose the kid from the opposing family itself for the sacrifice. After murdering the child, he offered the child's blood to the goddess, wrapped the body in a sack, and dumped it in the river.

The property dispute involved Ramavatar and his stepfather, Gareeba. Bhola had thought that after Ritik's death Ramavatar would leave the village and he would purchase Gareeba's property at a throwaway price.