4-yr-old TN girl killed in suspected human sacrifice, police arrest woman
Ten days after a 4-year-old girl was found dead with her throat slit in Pudukkottai district, the police arrested a woman in connection with the murder on Sunday. Police suspect that the girl was “sacrificed” as part of a black magic ritual.
Vellaichamy and Murugayi lived with their four-year-old daughter Shalini and one-and-half-year-old son Saswin in Kurumpatti village near Iluppur, Pudukkottai. On October 25, Shalini, who was playing in front of their house went missing. The couple and their neighbours together set out in search of the missing girl. After searching for about an hour, they found the Shalini’s body in a field among the bushes. Her throat had been slit open.
The couple filed a complaint at the Iluppur police station on October 25 evening.
Speaking to TNM, the investigating officer in the case, Inspector of Police Mangayarkarasi said that it took almost ten days for the police to zero in on the culprit. 47-year-old Chinnapillai, who was the couple’s neighbour in Kurumpatti, was arrested on Sunday. Police say she earned a living by performing rituals in cremation grounds and allegedly practiced black magic.
“We probed the matter and found that Chinnapillai was the one who committed the murder. She had injury marks on her wrists and forearms, which was indicative that Shalini had put up a fight before she was killed,” said the inspector.
The accused, who allegedly confessed to the murder, said that she had been facing a bad time in her profession. In order to improve her business, she wanted to give a young girl as a sacrifice to the deity that guards the cremation ground in the village, Chinnapillai allegedly confessed to the police. Shalini was an easy target for her because they were neighbours and were known to each other, she allegedly said.
The police have registered an FIR under section 302 (Murder) of the IPC. Chinnapillai has been remanded to judicial custody. She is currently lodged in the Trichy Central Women’s prison.