Self-Knowledge and Self-Realization

A difficult lesson on the cruelty of consciousness

10-yr-old’s body found in Chembur; evidence points to child sacrifice

Panic and anger in the neighbourhood as special investigation teams struggle for clues

Ashutosh Patil

The mutilated body of a 10-year-old boy was discovered on a hilltop near Chembur-Vashi junction on Sunday afternoon, sparking panic and anger in the neighbourhood. Circumstantial evidence and the condition of the body have given credence to the theory that the boy, Joginder Mali, may have been a victim of child sacrifice which followed sexual abuse. Joginder, who lived in Bharat Nagar with his eight siblings - they are five brothers and four sisters - and parents, went to school on Saturday morning and never returned. Joginder’s father, Hariprasad, who runs a small pan-cigarette shop in the neighbourhood, filed a missing complaint at 9 pm at the RCF police station. The victim’s family hold up a picture of 10-year-old Joginder Mali and (below) the spot in Chembur where his body was found Though both the boy’s neighbours and the police searched for him, they made no headway until Sunday when they stumbled upon his body in some bushes on top of a hill some 200 metres from his house. Joginder was lying in a pool of blood, his head smashed with a heavy stone which was left next to his body. Police also recovered a bunch of red threads commonly used in rituals, ceremonial red and black powder, bottles of essence, incense sticks, a plastic bag with cooked rice and photos of deities worshipped by followers of black magic. The crime had been committed under a banyan tree, and the articles were recovered below another banyan tree 20 ft away. According to an investigating officer who did not wish to be identified, a razor was recovered from the spot which was used to tonsure the boy’s head and later slit his throat. Investigating officers observed that the spot was chosen with a lot of care. It is right behind the Oswal chemical factory, more than 100 feet deep into the bushy patches, and fairly isolated. “There is no way anybody would have heard the boy’s screams,” said an officer on condition of anonymity. While the police have not yet arrived at the murder motive, the post mortem report has revealed that the victim had been sexually assaulted as well. Shirish Shelke, senior inspector of RCF police station said, “We have registered a case of murder under section 302 of IPC and our special teams are looking for the accused.” The Chembur unit of the Crime Branch has also been roped in to carry out the investigations. Although evidence points towards child sacrifice and black magic, senior police officers have refused to confirm it. At the time of going to press, the investigating team had found call receipts from a PCO which may give vital clues about the murder. Apart from this there were no clues left at the crime spot that could lead to the accused.