Gujarat man allegedly kills 10-year-old son at goddess's altar at home, sleeps beside body

The accused, a farm labourer from Ahmedabad district, allegedly told his wife he sacrificed their only son to prevent anyone in the family from becoming a ‘bhuva’ after him

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AHMEDABAD: A mentally disturbed man from a village in Ahmedabad district allegedly killed his 10-year-old son by smashing his head against the altar of a goddess in his house and slept beside the body on a cot, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred at Vinchhiya village in Sanand taluka on Sunday night. The accused, Naresh Patel, a farm labourer, was at home with his son as his wife Bhartiben had gone to her parents’ home after a quarrel with him, Sanand police station's inspector Jayprakash Chauhan said.

According to a complaint lodged by Bhartiben, the accused allegedly told her that he had sacrificed their only son at the goddess’s altar so that no one in the family would become a “bhuva” (a traditional ritual practitioner, acting as an intermediary between the local community and deities) after him.

"The man killed his son Karan at a small altar of a goddess in his house and slept next to his body on a cot. The accused is severely mentally disturbed. The boy's mother had left for her parents' home following an argument with her husband," Chauhan said.

The accused worked as a farm labourer. After a quarrel, his wife left for her parents' house, leaving the son with her husband because of his school.

A neighbour called her on Sunday night to inform her about the incident. When she reached the village around 9.30 pm, she found the child lying on a cot covered in blood, with an injury on his forehead. Patel was lying on the same cot, his clothes bloodstained, according to the FIR.

As per the woman, when she asked her husband about their son's death, Patel said his father was a "bhuva" for the goddess, and that he had taken on the role after him. He said he sacrificed their only son so that no one in the family would become a “bhuva” after him, she claimed.

Patel grabbed the child by the legs, slammed him down two to three times before the goddess's altar in the house, struck him on the head with a stick and killed him, the complainant alleged.

After being alerted, the police arrested the accused and launched an investigation into the case.