PANAJI: A couple has been arrested in Goa for allegedly killing a five-year-old girl from their neighbourhood and burying the body in their backyard, an official said on Friday.
The accused Babasaheb Alar (52) and his wife Pooja (45) have told the police that an occult practitioner had advised them to "sacrifice" a kid to "end their woes", the official said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Ponda) Shivram Vaigankar told reporters that the parents of the child had complained that she went missing on Wednesday. CCTV footage showed that the kid entered the house of the accused but did not come out, said Vaigankar.
During interrogation, the childless couple confessed to killing the girl on the advice of a person practising black magic, he said. The couple believed that "sacrificing a child" would bring an end to their problems, the official added. They also told police that they had buried the body in their compound.
The couple have been booked for murder and destruction of evidence,