A 46-year-old man, who was released from jail a few weeks ago in a case related to his wife’s murder, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing a 16-year-old boy and trying to eat his flesh and drink his blood in Samana village in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district, police said.
The accused, Jodha Patel, a resident of Samana village, had earlier been arrested on charges of slaughtering his wife a few years ago. He was convicted in that case and released from prison in January, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.
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A man kills a teenager, and cops investigate allegations of eating bran and drinking blood
The 16-year-old boy, a resident of the village of Arthkhuda, had come to visit his sister at her home in the village of Samana.
While returning on his bike, Patil allegedly attacked him using an iron rod and later beat him with an iron hammer. The teenager died on the spot, a city superintendent of police (CSP) told HT.
The police officer further said that the villagers claimed to have seen Patel trying to eat the flesh from the boy’s head and drink blood from his hands after they reached the spot.
“When the villagers heard the screams, they rushed to the spot and found Patel eating meat from the boy’s head and drinking blood from his hands,” Pandey added.
The villagers tried to arrest the accused, but he threatened them with a hammer. “He hid in a farmland near the village. The villagers chased him and started pelting him with stones. Patil also attacked the villagers with stones,” the officer said.
The police then arrived at the site and surrounded the square. “After an hour-long effort, the police arrested the accused and took him to the police station,” Pandey said.
PTI news agency reported that a relative of the victim’s sister demanded the death penalty for Patel.
The police are now trying to find out the reason behind the murder.
(With inputs from Shruti Tomar)
