Ahmedabad, Nov 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) A 36-year-old self-styled faith healer allegedly killed his 10-year-old son by repeatedly smashing him against a goddess’s altar and hitting him with a stick in Ahmedabad district’s Vinchhiya village, telling his wife that he wanted to ensure no one else in the family followed the generations-old tradition of serving as a bhuvo, or spirit medium.
The incident took place around 7 p.m. on November 1 near the altar of Jogani Mata, located in the courtyard of the accused Naresh Patel’s house.
According to police, he allegedly held his son by the legs and slammed him against the altar two to three times before striking him on the head with a stick, causing fatal injuries.
When the boy’s mother, Bharatiben, returned home after being informed about the assault, she found Naresh sleeping on a cot beside their son’s body.
The Ahmedabad Rural Police team that reached the spot also found the accused asleep on a separate cot, wearing blood-stained clothes, while Karan lay dead with severe head injuries. The altar bore marks of the child’s blood.
Officials said the accused had slammed his son’s head against the edge of the temple in the courtyard before hitting him with a stick.
According to the FIR, when Bharatiben asked her husband why he had killed their son, he told her that his father had been a bhuvo and that he had taken up the role after him.
“To ensure that nobody else becomes a Bhuva in this family, I took Karan by the feet, slammed him against the altar, hit him with a stick and killed him,” he allegedly told her.
Bharatiben had reportedly been living with her parents in Sanand for around 10 days after a domestic dispute during which Naresh allegedly assaulted her.
The boy had remained at home because his school examinations were approaching. On November 1, she was informed that her husband had assaulted their son.
A neighbour also alerted the police, following which a team from Sanand police station reached the house.
The police registered a murder case and arrested Naresh within hours of the incident. Naresh, a farm labourer, was the local bhuvo, a ritual practitioner believed by followers to channel deities.
According to the account given to police, he had inherited the practice from his father but did not want his son or any other family member to continue the tradition.
The Sanand police registered a case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deals with murder. The accused was identified in the police press release as Nareshbhai Patel, a resident of Vinchhiya village in Sanand taluka.
Officials said the accused did not appear to be mentally stable and that a psychological evaluation would be conducted to understand his state of mind.
Police have also collected evidence from the scene for forensic examination. Neighbours reportedly told investigators that Naresh did not have cordial relations with people in the locality.
The investigation is underway.
Source: IANS
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