A 10-year-old girl went missing from her home in Ramanagara on March 1 and two days later, she was found dead in a sack behind a mosque in Bengaluru’s Magadi.
“The girl, Ayesha was brutally murdered as she had been sacrificed for a black magic ritual,” the Magadi Town Police Inspector said. The police had reportedly recovered a lock of hair, turmeric and lemon from the bag, raising suspicion that Ayesha was a victim of human sacrifice.
The police, on Saturday, arrested Mohammad Waseem, Naseema Taj and Rasheeda Begum along with a minor.
Brothers Mohammed Waseem and Mohammad Noorullah, who is Ayesha’s father, had a property dispute. They also had another brother who was paralysed, police said.
“Mohammed Waseem, the girl’s uncle had approached Rasheeda Begum, who claims to be an astrologer, with the property dispute and a solution for his brother’s health. Rasheeda then told Waseem that a 10 or 11-year-old-girl has to be sacrificed for a ritual. She had also promised Waseem that his brother’s health and property dispute would be resolved,” the Inspector added.
Mohammed Waseem, Rasheeda and her aide Naseema allegedly kidnapped Ayesha from her home on March 1 at around 8:30 pm.
“The girl had died some time on Thursday itself based on the level of decomposition of the body. Upon questioning the suspects, it was revealed that they had strangled her first and then used her body for a ritual and had disposed the body behind the mosque as per Rasheeda’s suggestion,” the Inspector said.
The murder came to light on Friday when a mosque-goer noticed the stench and blood on the sack at around 3:00 pm, and informed the police. The Magadi police, who knew of the missing persons’ complaint identified Ayesha and informed her parents.
“The four accused have been booked for murder and remanded to police custody,” the inspector added.
MLAs H C Balakrishna and Zameer Ahmed Khan met members of Ayesha’s family and handed over a compensation of Rs 2 lakh on Saturday. The leaders said they would request Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a CID probe to bring the culprits to book.