Child sacrifice near CM's hometown

4-year-old victim's granny, his dad's uncle and aunt arrested from village near Karad

Au00a0shockingu00a0case of human sacrifice was exposed near Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's hometown Karad after the body of a four-year-old was found in the storage space of a bed on Sunday. The case was reported from Dhondewadi, 13 km from Karad city. The last rites were performed on Pranav Sambhaji Kakade, the sacrificed child, on Monday and the police arrested his grandmother and other relatives in connection with the murder.
Pranav's parents had filed a complaint on Saturday stating their child was missing. The Karad police summoned a dog squad to look for the boy, but found nothing.


Shocking: Victim Pranav Sambhaji Kakade


The boy's arrested grandmother Vimal Damu Kakade and relatives
Tanaji and Narmada Kakade. Pics/ Raju Sanadi

The murder was exposed after Pranav's body was found in the bed storage space with injuries around his neck that indicated he had been throttled. The police arrested Pranav's grandmother Vimal Damu Kakade, his father's uncle Tanaji Bapu Kakade (48) and aunt Narmada Tanaji Kakade (40) in connection with the murder.

"The three people have been arrested on the basis of suspicion as they were the only ones with the child at the time of his death," said Police Inspector Barkat Mujawar (Karad Rural). "The child died between 11 am and 1 pm on May 7." According to the police, Tanaji, Narmada and Vimal were believers in black magic and often resorted to superstitious practices associated with it. Mujawar said Pranav's parents were initially reluctant to register a missing complaint.

"The family was not ready to register a missing complaint as Tanaji Kakade had advised the child's father Sambhaji to first seek divine intervention," said Mujawar. "Tanaji told him he would ask god his son's whereabouts after which the child will return in four to five days." The police suspect that the people who were responsible for Pranav's death could not dispose of his body as the entire village was alert after learning that he was missing.

Black magic
Pranav's father, an electrician, had built a new house close to Tanaji's residence as his business flourished. The Karad police said they had received information that Sambhaji's prosperity had made others in the family jealous. According to the villagers, the Kakade family, which belongs to the shepherd community, was superstitious. They said the family held Pranav responsible for all "strange occurrences" in their new home. Villagers told MiD DAY that the family even claimed that some strange things happened whenever Pranav and Tanaji's year-old granddaughter Janhavi played together in their courtyard. The family reportedly claimed that whenever the children played together, the iron sheets covering their house blew away and red sindoor appeared on Janhavi's forehead. The villagers also reported incidents of domestic animal deaths.