Two persons were arrested and two others were detained in Nashik after alert locals foiled their alleged attempt to perform human sacrifices, for curing an ailing member of their family, police said on Friday.
The incident took place in Nashik road locality in Devlaligaon when locals heard a digging sound from the house of one Mogal Bhalerao in Rajwada on September 4 (no-moon day) and grew suspicious, they said. Last night too, when similar noises came out, people barged in to find a black magic ritual in progress.
A seven-feet long crater was dug in the house and a woman and four children were sitting inside, with some lemons in their hands and foreheads smeared with 'kum kum'.
The kids were also holding some taits (a charm against evil forces), they said. On the complaint of one Balasaheb Yuvraj, police rushed to the spot last night and stopped the ritual and seized some essence-sticks, bones, lemons, taits and 'kum kum' from the spot.
Subsequently, two persons-- Jitesh Mogal Bhalerao and Vijay Mogal Bhalerao -- were arrested while two women -- Sunita mogal and Sangita Mogal- were detained. The children were let off, police said.
Police have registered offences against them under Section 3 of Maharashtra Anti-superstition and Black magic Ordinance, senior police inspector Moula Sayyad said on Friday. Those arrested confessed to conducting the ritual to cure their father Mogal Bhalerao of asthama, police said.
The women are being interrogated to delve further into the case. The Maharashtra Government had recently issued an Ordinance against superstition and black magic after the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, who was fighting blind faith in the society.
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