A tantrik was arrested on Thursday for instigating human sacrifice in Ambernath on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Anil Laxmikant Singh, 33, beheaded his neighbour's nine-year-old son, Rahul Soni, to appease the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, and solve his marital problems on the advice of Tantrik Baba Bengali alias Akram Abdul Mallik.
The Manapada police, Thane district, led by Senior Inspector Shamsher Khan Pathan, had detained Singh, a bhutta vendor. On questioning the hawker confessed to the killing and led the police to the tantrik.
The police raided Mallik's Bandra den and arrested him, assistant Yunus and seized various paraphernalia used in occult practises.
"Enquiries with Ambernath police confirmed that a beheaded corpse of a nine-year-old was discovered by the locals and the detained suspect was the prime accused," Pathan said.
"I have committed a heinous crime and God will never forgive me. Baba had promised that a human sacrifice will bring an end to all my miseries," said Singh in the detention room.
On the evening of June 22, while Rahul was emerging from a barber's shop, Singh accosted the child and took him to a secluded spot.
"The child was asked to kneel with eyes closed while the accused in a swift movement separated the head from the body with a large knife," said an official at the Ambernath police station.
"On enquiring with Singh, he had denied knowing where our son was, and when asked to accompany us to the police station he made some vague excuse and later disappeared," Rahul's father Subhash Soni said.
The police said Mallik had a flourishing business in Bandra, offering instant prosperity and solution to a large number of mostly semi-literate and poor labourers.
"I just give a talisman to those who come to me with their problems and advise them to meditate and pray for solution. Faith has got tremendous powers to heal and has got nothing to do black magic or occult practise. I don't approve or advise human sacrifice," Mallik said.
He denied asking Singh to offer a human sacrifice.
In January 2000, Singh had attacked his wife Nirmala and daughter Monica on the advice of the tantrik. He was arrested two months later and put behind bars for 22 months.
On his release in March this year, Singh visited the tantrik and complained that the advice had not brought him prosperity.
"Baba blamed me for not performing the tantrik ritual in proper manner and asked me to arrange for human sacrifice," he claimed.