Merely 20 km from the national Capital, a female tantrik allegedly took the life of a six-year-old girl in Ghaziabad. The incident happened on Monday night in the village of Kakra under Muradnagar police station.
Police said six-year-old Vaishnavi used to live with her maternal grandparents. Her aunt Babita practiced occult. The father of the girl, who lives in Morti village, left the girl with her maternal grandparents to treat her for insomnia.
The maternal aunt of the girl revealed that the girl used to be tied to four pillars as part of “treatment”. During the “treatment”, the aunt used to flog her with a sickle claiming to cure the girl of her maladies. The maternal grandparents used to assist Babita in her occult rituals.
Neighbours informed police who reached the village and rescued the child from the family. On the way to hospital, the girl succumbed to her injuries. Pintu, father of the girl, said he had agreed to the “treatment” his in-laws administered on her.
Police has taken the maternal aunt Babita and her husband Shrikant into custody. The grandparents — Mahavir and Rajwati — are yet to be questioned.
“The entire area is backward and seeks treatment through occult practices but prior to this incident, no one told us about this. The patrolling team picked up the child and parents were called to the police station. No one has turned up to get the case registered against any one. So we allowed the parents and maternal parents to go. The dead body has been sent for autopsy. If unnatural cause of death is found, legal action would be initiated against the guilty persons found during investigation,” said AP Singh, Station Officer, Muradnagar police station.