12-yr-old boy succumbs to occult practices;tantric couple held

A 12-year-old boy died today after a tantric couple allegedly poured hot oil on him and rammed an iron rod into his mouth to rid him of "evil influence" in Kirpiya Pandey village in the district, police said.

The victim, Anip, was found suspended from the ceiling at the residence of the self-proclaimed tantric couple, Rakesh and Sushma, whose alleged torture of the boy led to his death, Milak police in-charge Sumeet Kumar said.

The boy had been kept hanging for seven hours before succumbing to the excesses inflicted on him, signs of which were visible in the burn marks on his body, he said.
 

The couple has been arrested, Kumar said.

The duo claimed that the boy was brought to them by his grandmother and uncle, who felt it would cure him of certain ailments that he had developed on account of being "possessed".