An Indian man gouged out the eyes of a five-year-old boy, chopped off his finger and then killed him as a sacrifice to the goddess Durga, the many-armed destroyer of demons, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The man lured the boy, Santosh, with offers of chocolates as he played in his village in Orissa on Sunday night, The Asian Age reported, quoting police.
The man told the police that Durga appeared to him in a dream and told him he had to sacrifice a child to solve his problems. The Age did not say what the problems were.
He was caught by villagers and made to confess after Santosh's body was found on Monday, the newspaper said.