In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court has set aside a death penalty awarded by a district court and acquitted a 30-year-old tantric of Jajpur district, who was facing death row for sacrificing an eight-year-old boy as a religious offering five years ago.
Justices Vinod Prasad and Raghubir Dash on Thursday dismissed the Jajpur District and Sessions Court’s death reference case for confirmation and upheld the appeal of the tantric Pitambar Goipoi setting him free of murder and other charges.
District Judge Jivan Ballav in August this year had convicted the tantric of abduction and murder of the infant Srikant Bag and sentenced him death. But the High Court annulled the lower court’s verdict stating that there was lack of convincing evidence in the case.
The case inter alia was that the Sukinda police had retrieved the beheaded body of Srikant from a deserted place at Damodarpur on February 13, 2010, two days after he went missing. Police subsequently located the infant’s head along with some Puja materials from a deserted place near the tantric’s house.
On allegation from the boy’s relative that the tantric had sacrificed the boy to propitiate the local deity, police arrested him amidst a massive public outcry. While the tantric could not defend the case in the lower court by engaging a lawyer, the High Court had appointed an amicus curie to conduct his case.