AHMEDABAD: In a case of suspected human sacrifice due to a psychological disorder, a 30-year-old man allegedly killed his 22-year-old relative by striking him with a sword on the neck inside a temple in Matar, in Gujarat’s Kheda district, on Saturday night. The police apprehended the accused, Jayesh Thakor, a resident of Radhvanaj village, on Monday and said that it is a suspected case of human sacrifice.
The accused claimed he had been experiencing hallucinations that compelled him to offer human blood to the goddess. The victim, Bhavin Thakor, also a resident of Radhvanaj and reportedly a distant relative of the accused, was targeted without any apparent motive, said police officers.
Bhavin’s father, Vijay Thakor, stated in the FIR that Bhavin used to work at a private firm in Kheda but had been unemployed for a month. On Saturday evening, Vijay found Jayesh screaming in his house and speaking incoherently. After an hour, Jayesh’s voice stopped.
‘Victim died after brief treatment’
Vijay Thakor also saw Bhavin Thakor and his friends sitting in a temple of Bahuchar in the village later that night. At around 10pm on Saturday, a neighbour, Budha Thakor, rushed to Vijay’s house, telling Vijay that Jayesh had struck Bhavin on the back of the neck with a sword at the Bahuchar temple, leaving him severely injured.
Vijay rushed to the temple and found Bhavin lying unconscious in a pool of blood with a long cut on his neck. One of Bhavin’s friends told Vijay that they were talking around a bonfire when Jayesh suddenly appeared, took out a sword from the goddess’s idol, and attacked Bhavin. Bhavin was taken to a trust-run hospital in Sokhda, where he died after a brief treatment, said Vijay in the FIR. The first investigating officer of the case, circle police inspector of Matar, Keval Bhimani, said, “We are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murder. The accused apparently had some psychological issues and felt that he received a divine order to kill his friend, which he did.”
Matar police inspector J N Parmar, the current investigating officer, said that this is not a usual killing with a motive. “The accused was not keeping well for five days before he killed Bhavin. He seemed to have had hallucinations. We have arrested the accused, and further investigation is ongoing.”
A local police source said that the accused kept blabbering that he killed his friend as on the goddess’s divine order. Local police have launched an investigation into the incident, while mental health experts are being consulted regarding the accused’s psychological state. Matar police registered a case of murder against Jayesh.