MADURAI: In a horrific incident, a stray dog was seen carrying a severed head of a baby on VP Rathnasamy Road in Bibikulam on Wednesday afternoon. Police have recovered the head and preserved it at the Government Rajaji Hospital.
Ayyanar (31) from the locality spotted the dog around 12.30 pm. He chased the dog, which dropped the head and fled. Upon information police arrived and held preliminary inquiry. “Details like age, gender and cause of death are not clear. We are carrying out forensic procedures to identify the baby.
The head seems to have been taken out by the dog from drainage or wet mud. We have taken soil sediment samples from the head and are trying to trace similar soil lands in the locality. There is high chance that the head of the child was severed after death, and less chance of the dog attacking the baby,” said police.
Details of babies born at government institutions in recent days are being collected. “If it is a case of a couple disposing of the baby because it was born out of wedlock, the delivery might have been illegal and so tracing the couple may also be difficult,” a police officer said.
Human sacrifice?
As the child’s head was found two days after a no moon day, the police are also checking at possibilities of a human sacrifice.