Dad chops off his 13-year-old son’s penis with an axe and lets him bleed to death after witch doctor said it would ‘get rid of bad spirits’
Superstitious Ram Gopal Patel had complained of spooky goings-on such as 'buzzing utensils and noisy windows'
A SUPERSTITIOUS father allegedly chopped off his son's genitals with an axe and left him to bleed to death after a witch doctor said it would rid the house of evil spirits.
Ram Gopal Patel, 39, is said to have admitted he mutilated innocent Rupesh, 13, with the help of a local quack.
The boy's mother Sunita Patel, 35, was out working in the fields and returned to find him bleeding on the floor of their home in Baloda Bazaar, in central India's Chhattisgarh state.
Neighbours said the dad had been complaining of spooky goings-on for months before he consulted a witch doctor.
He told police Rajesh Yadav, 19, promised all his problems would vanish if he castrated his son.
The two men have been charged with murder and criminal conspiracy and are awaiting trial.
Police Inspector Ram Gopal Soni said: "The accused Ram Gopal Patel and Rajesh Yadav sacrificed 13-year-old Rupesh Patel before he bled to death.
"They hit Rupesh hard on his head and then chopped off his genitals with an axe and left him lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
"The father has since confessed his crime but is in a state of shock and probably repenting for his acts.
"He claimed Rajesh told him that in order to get rid of the evil spirits, he had to sacrifice his son, and all his problems would be solved.
"He added that strange things had been happening in the house for some time like buzzing utensils and noisy windows.
"He said he was desperate to get rid of the evil. The mother added that the father might be possessed by evil spirits before he killed his own son."
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Witch doctors are rife in rural areas in India where many people are poorly educated.
The country has seen a rise in related crimes, mostly in remote tribal pockets.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 135 people were killed for practising witchcraft in 2015.
But few witnesses come forward, so many crimes go unreported.
Earlier this month a four-year-old girl was beheaded and had her limbs hacked off by witch doctors in a black magic ceremony to find a lost mobile phone.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Nepal, hundreds of young women paid £1,500 each to stand in a river and have shamans beat them with sticks "to ward off spirits".
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