On November 14, 2020, in Ghatampur, Kanpur, four people—including a couple—were found guilty of killing a seven-year-old girl and devouring her liver and other vital parts at the request of an occultist. They were all given life sentences.
Following a three-year trial, the accused couple, Parshuram and Sunaina, together with their nephew Ankul and associate Viren, were sentenced to life in jail by Additional District Judge Baquar Shamim Rizvi under the POCSO Act.
The court fined Ankul, Viren, and Parshuram Rs. 45,000 apiece and Sunaina Rs. 20,000 apiece.
Further district government attorneys Ram Rakshit Sharma, Pradeep Pandey, and Ajay Kumar Tripathi stated that on November 14, 2020, a Ghatampur villager filed a report alleging that her daughter, age seven, had vanished while playing outside her home.
Her disfigured body was discovered in a field outside the settlement the next day.
Police started an inquiry after filing a formal complaint (FIR) against Parshuram, Sunaina, Ankul, and Viren.
When police learned that Parshuram and Sunaina had not given birth to a child despite being married for 19 years, they went to an occultist who instructed them to eat a girl’s liver. The girl was sexually raped by Ankul and Viren, who later killed her.
They took out the girl’s liver and offered it to Sunaina and Parshuram.
The sentence was made public by the court on Saturday.