GUWAHATI: Assam science teacher Jadav Saharia, accused of attempting human sacrifice, had resorted to the bizarre ritual apparently in his hunt for hidden treasure.
He was allegedly ready to sacrifice a three-year-old girl and danced naked with his family members and relatives during the ritual, lured by the dream of pots of gold beneath his family temple.
A local “tantric” had told Saharia that the ritual would help him lay his hand on the hidden treasure.
“Tantric Ramesh Saharia had prescribed the ritual saying hidden treasure lay buried underneath our Shiva temple,” Saharia told reporters at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
“Now, I understand it was a conspiracy hatched by him and others to capture my property,” he said.
Saharia, his son Pulakesh (29) and a nephew (16) were injured when the police opened fire on them as they went berserk during the ritual at their Kushalipara residence in northern Assam’s Udalguri district.
While Pulakesh, a graduate in computer application, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, the two others were undergoing treatment at the GMCH. They were said to be out of danger.
Eight people, including some women, had taken part in the ritual and all of them were nude. They were found behaving unnaturally for hours together. The locals alleged the family had plans to sacrifice the minor.
A relative of the teacher, who took part in the ritual, said Pulakesh had stripped first and he forced the others to follow suit.
“I visited the house the previous day and when I was planning to return home, they insisted I stay back. After we had tea the next morning, I don’t know why we started following everything that Pulakesh said. He was armed with an axe and he had destroyed the valuables one after another and set the house on fire,” she said.
The police had briefly detained Saharia’s wife and the others.
“The police have kept them under observation. The tantric has gone underground and the police are searching for him,” Udalguri Deputy Commissioner (District Magistrate), Dilip Kumar Das, told this newspaper.