Seven-year-old gang raped and killed, her liver cut out and eaten by childless couple in 'black magic' ritual

Four people have been arrested in connection to the alleged rape and brutal killing of a seven-year-old girl, whose liver was eaten out by one of the killers' childless uncle and aunt. Police said the incident was part of an occult ritual that took place in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on the festival of Diwali.

According to reports, two suspects Ankul Kuril and Beeran lured the victim away from her village when she went out to buy firecrackers for the festival on Saturday, November 14. The 20-year-old Ankul and his 31-year-old friend allegedly tied up the little girl before gang-raping her and cutting out her organs from her body. Two other suspects, Parshuram Kuril and his wife Sunaina, have also been taken into custody for allegedly planning out the heinous crime. Superintendent of Police Brijesh Srivastava said Ankul and Beeran admitted to receiving money from Parshuram for bringing the victim’s liver for a “black magic” ceremony. Ankul was reportedly paid just INR 1,500 ($20) by his uncle Parshuram to commit the offense.

“The uncle and his wife said they were unable to have a child since their wedding in 1999 and believed that eating the girl’s liver will help them have a child. Both men were inebriated – they took the girl, sexually assaulted her before cutting her body open and bringing her liver to their uncle,” Srivastava told local media as reported by The Sun. Reports stated that on November 15 morning, the remains of the victim were found in a woodland near her home by her parents and neighbors who desperately searched for her after she did not show up at home.

All the accused have been charged with murder, gang rape, and disappearance of evidence of an offense. Deputy Inspector General of Police Preetinder Singh said forensic experts and sniffer dogs are working to collect evidence to confirm if the cruel act against the child was carried out as part of “black magic”. “On Diwali night, the girl went missing while playing outside her home. Local residents and the police looked for her but could not find her through the night. Next morning, her mutilated body was found around a kilometer from the village near a jungle. Senior officers, along with forensic teams and dog squad, visited the spot and later we found that two youths from the neighborhood had abducted the girl on the pretext of giving her a packet of potato chips,” Singh added.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said: “Those responsible for the unfortunate incident at Kanpur will not be spared at any cost. My condolences to the distraught family.” The unfortunate incident comes almost a year after in the Indian city of Hyderabad a 26-year-old woman was gang-raped and then burned to death. Later, four suspects were arrested, including a truck driver and a cleaner, in connection with the case, and on December 6, 2019, all of them were fatally shot by local police, resulting in celebration for many who celebrated their deaths as justice in the case that sparked countrywide protests.