According to the police, the accused mother, 33-year-old Geeta, allegedly attacked her two-month-old daughter with a sharp object, causing grievous injuries to the child.

Uttar Pradesh News: In a disturbing incident fueled by blind superstition, a woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district Thursday allegedly slit her infant daughter’s neck with a sharp object as part of an ‘occult’ ritual. According to the police, the accused mother, 33-year-old Geeta, allegedly attacked her two-month-old daughter with a sharp object, causing grievous injuries to the child.

An official said the woman’s husband has claimed that she is mentally unstable. He said the injured child was rushed to a hospital by her family members where her condition is stated to be stable.

“The family members have informed that the woman is mentally unstable and believes in occult practices,” said the official.

He said the incident is under investigation and further actions will be taken according to the family’s complaint.

“The matter is being investigated and further action will be taken as per complaint filed by them,” the officer said.

9-year-old killed in human sacrifice ritual

Cases of superstitious “occult practices” are often reported from various parts of the country with children often bearing the brunt of those evil “rituals”.

In July last year, a shocking case of human sacrifice was reported from a village in Maharashtra’s Nashik district where a 9-year-old boy was reportedly abducted and later killed as part of a ‘ritual’ by a group of people.

After the murder, the four accused, who were later arrested, half-buried his body in the ground as part of their superstitious rites, police said.

According to the police, grisly crime happened on July 16 in Malegaon Taluka of Nashik district. Giving details, an official told news agency PTI that the accused abducted the boy when he was out playing in a field in Pohane Shivar village.

The accused slit the boy’s throat and half buried his body in the ground, the official said, adding that the body was found on July 18 and a murder case was registered.

Police said the accused, who are residents of the same village, were in search of a hidden treasure and had killed the boy as part of a ritual.

10-year-old boy killed in human sacrifice ritual in UP’s Bahraich

A similar incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district in March last year where a 10-year-old boy was found murdered with his throat slit open in a field, allegedly as a human sacrifice.

According to officials, the victim, identified as Vivek Verma, was reported missing by his father Krishna Verma—a resident of Parsa village and later on the same night police found the boy’s body lying in a field with his throat cut open.

They said that as per preliminary investigations, the slain child’s cousin and one of the accused, Anoop had a two-and-half year-old mentally-challenged son who was often ill of health and when multiple prolonged treatments did not yield any positive results for the toddler, Anoop sought out a Tantrik (occultist) near his village who urged him to perform a human sacrifice in order to cure his sick child.

Three people, including the slain victim’s cousin, were arrested by the police in connection with the murder.

(With PTI inputs)