Police of India saved a 3-year-old girl from impending death at the hands of her relatives, as they organised to ‘sacrifice’ the toddler after getting consent from her parents. The incident took place in the Ganakpara village of Udalguri district. Police arrived at the area after they were alerted by the villagers who spotted smoke rising from the science teacher’s house, named as Jadab Saharia.
Locals had become even more concerned when they saw the teacher, along with the members of his family, taking off their clothes after putting the 3-year-old on an altar. The shocking ceremony was to be conducted by a priest, armed with a long sword. The situation worsened when the ‘priest’ began wielding his sword in an attempt to chop off the toddler’s head as part of the horrid ritual.
All pleas to the family to stop the bloodshed were in vain, as they only angered the priest who was set in his motives of ending the life of the innocent three-year-old girl. He started to threaten the villagers who wanted to prevent the crime, with an axe and a sword. The family was calm at the arrival of media and police, but then the group’s behaviour only grew worse. They started to throw rocks and utensils at the police and set fire to their belongings, including a motorcycle, TV set, car, and fridge.
Having consumed all other options, police were forced to fire several shots in the air to bring the teacher, priest, and others involved in their senses. Eventually, the officers wrestled the child away from them and placed the family members and their machete-wielding religious leader under arrest. Eyewitnesses have said the child was the daughter of the teacher’s sister-in-law and in the presence of her mother, the father gave the child for sacrifice.
