The severed head of a newborn baby girl was found at a secluded place near a graveyard at Road Number 13, Banjara Hills, on Monday night. CCTV footage accessed by Hyderabad police show the head of the child being brought to the location by stray dogs.

The severed head was spotted by locals at around 9 pm, who then immediately alerted the Banjara Hills Police. "The head appears to have been torn off the corpse by dogs. There is a practice of disposing of stillborn and aborted babies at the graveyard. But the burial was not done properly and dogs found the body," N Kalinga Rao, inspector, Banjara Hills police station told TNM, adding that the baby was barely 20 days old and had been dead for a few days.

Police have registered a case under Section 317 of the IPC (The exposure and abandonment of a child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it). "We are still investigating the case and are reviewing CCTV footage," said Rao.

The official also ruled out any possibility of this instance being liked to black magic, stating that the severed head did not have any signs of being operated upon by a surgical instrument.

Last year, a Hyderabad couple was arrested for the human sacrifice of a female child. According to the police, Rajashekar had kidnapped a baby girl, killed her by chopping her head off on the Musi river banks and brought the severed head of the baby home on the night of January 31. He would then leave the severed head on the terrace so it would catch the moonlight as part of a black magic ritual. The couple believed that human sacrifice would help them better their health.