Three die during alleged tantric ritual, five detained
Korba | Correspondent: A case of the suspicious deaths of three people during a tantric ritual has come to light in Korba district of Chhattisgarh. The bodies of scrap dealer Ashraf Memon, Suresh Sahu of Tulsinagar, and Nitish Kumar of Durg were found late Wednesday night in a room at a scrap yard in Barbaspur. The incident occurred in the Urga police station area, but the investigation is being conducted by the Civil Lines police.
According to preliminary information, alleged tantric Rajendra Kumar, a resident of Bilaspur, arrived in Korba on Wednesday night with three associates. It was claimed that Rs. 5 lakh could be transformed into Rs. 2.5 crore through tantric rituals, and the money would be distributed among everyone. Police have so far detained five people.
The alleged ritual began at the scrap yard around 11 PM. It is reported that Rajendra called the three men into a separate room one by one, gave them lemons, confined them within a circle drawn with a rope on the ground, and told them the door would be opened after 30 minutes to an hour. When the room was opened after the stipulated time, all three were found dead. The people present panicked and informed the police. They were taken to the hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
Ashwani Kurre, a resident of Bilaspur who accompanied Rajendra, said he had no information about the sudden deaths of the three men. He claims that the incident occurred after the tantric ritual was completed, but he has no idea how they died. Rajendra fled after the incident but was later taken into custody by the police.
The wife of the deceased Suresh Sahu, Gudia Devi, said that Sanjay Sahu, a resident of Bilaspur, had been pressuring her husband for money for the past five days. On Wednesday night, he came to their house and took Suresh with him at 12 AM. Gudia Devi said that she last spoke to him at 3 AM, after which his phone was switched off.
Korba CSP Bhushan Ekka said that initial investigations suggest the possibility of poisoning, although the exact cause of death will only be clear after the post-mortem report. A forensic team has examined the scene, and the yard has been sealed. Police are questioning Rajendra and his team to determine whether this was a case of fraudulent occult practices or some kind of conspiracy.
Korba SP Siddharth Tiwari confirmed that five people have been taken into custody so far and the case is under serious investigation. Forensic experts and other police teams are also involved in the inquiry.
