HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 4: After almost four years, police finally made a breakthrough into the chilling human sacrifice incident of 2019 at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati by arresting five people.
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The incident occurred on June 19, 2019, during Ambubachi Mela at Joy Durga Mandir in Kamakhya.
“On June 19, 2019, the beheaded body of an unidentified woman was found in the staircase of Joy Durga Mandir. Following the incident, a suo-moto case was registered under the Jalukbari Police Station and a detailed investigation was launched,” Guwahati commissioner of police Diganta Borah said.
Though the police soon launched an investigation, the case did not see much progress initially as the identity of the victim was not known.
“On July 28, 2019, the son of the victim, Suresh Shaw hailing from Tatipara in West Bengal’s Hooghly reached the Jalukbari Police Station after he learnt about the news of the recovery of the headless body of the woman and, based on her apparels and other identification marks identified the victim as his mother Santi Shaw (64),” official said.
After a prolonged investigation running for almost four years, the case was recently reviewed by a special team to identify the accused.
After analysing past evidence and clues, the team reached Bengal’s Cooch Behar and searched the house of one Kailash Barman on March 18, 2023, from where the victim’s mobile phone, clothes, and an ID proof (Aadhaar card) were recovered.
Barman reportedly told the police during investigation that the items were left at his place by one ‘Baba’, Mata Prasad Pandey (50), in June 2019.
Upon interrogation it came to light that one Pradip Pathak sponsored a puja in memory of his brother and paid Rs 10,000 to all the persons involved in the gruesome act of human sacrifice.
Pathak was arrested from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh while Mata Prasad Pandey was nabbed from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Police arrested Mata Prasad Pandey alias Mateswari Giri from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on March 25 last.
The official added that during questioning, Pandey told that on the intervening night of June 18 and June 19 in 2019, a puja was performed at ‘Bhootnath’, a cremation ground in the foothills of Neelachal Hills where the Kamakhya temple is located. Tantriks and sadhus are known to stay in the area and perform pujas.
As per official, Pandey stated that the police at least 12 people, including the victim, had taken part in the puja.
Pandey told the police that all of them consumed alcohol too, and were in an inebriated state.
During the puja, they made Santi lie down on a blanket. A few others then held her hands and legs, and someone allegedly beheaded her as an act of “sacrifice”.
Based on this statement, and further investigation, the police arrested Suresh Paswan (56), Kanu Acharjee alias Kanu Tantrik (62) and Bhaiyaram Maoriya alias Raju Baba (60) were arrested from Bhoothnath, Guwahati.
Another sadhu who had allegedly accompanied him to Assam is still absconding and search is on to apprehend him, Borah said.
