A court of Baleswar, convicting an accused in a murder case, awarded him life imprisonment on Wednesday. The convict, Madan Sutar of Godhi village under Oupada police limits, had killed a six- year-old girl allegedly over sorcery.
According to sources, Jasmin Sutar in 2017 was missing from her house since April 3 and her body was found floating in a pond on April 7.
The grandfather of the deceased, Banamali, had alleged that Jasmin was killed (sacrificed) by Madan as the latter was practicing black magic.
The police investigation revealed that the girl was killed by the convict and buried. He dumped the body in the pond after search was intensified. The court, besides awarding life term, also slapped penalty of Rs 10,000 and in default another one year term.