The senior officer said that it was when the police recovered the severed head from the house of the accused that they changed their course of investigation. (Express photos)When police in Odisha’s Balangir recovered a headless body from a pond earlier this week, little did they know that their search for the perpetrator, and the part missing from the victim’s body, would end barely 20 metres away.But more than the crime, what threw the police off was the motive behind it – the case turned out to be an alleged attempt at human sacrifice carried out by the accused in a bid to get back his estranged wife.Police have arrested the accused, 40-year-old Satrughan Sahu, a resident of Bagada village under Deogaon Police Station.Police said the victim was identified as Santosh Kharsel, 45. His brother-in-law had filed a missing report on August 18. Kharsel was a native of Teparmunda village in the district.As the body was found without the head, it initially raised suspicion of destruction of evidence after the murder, police said. As police began looking for the accused, they learnt that Kharsel was last seen with Sahu.Northern Range Inspector General of Police Himanshu Lal confirmed to The Indian Express that Sahu killed Kharsel as part of human sacrifice in an attempt to bring back his wife, who has been living at her maternal home at Patnagarh in the district for the past 11 years. Both the children of the accused had also been staying away from him.Attacked victim with dagger“Investigation so far revealed that the accused met the deceased on August 18. Thereafter, he (Sahu) brought him (Kharsel) to his house. During the night, the accused attacked the victim with an iron katari (dagger), severed his head, and disposed of the beheaded body in a nearby pond, which is barely 20 meters from his house,” said Lal.Story continues below this adThe severed head was then buried inside a pit in Sahu’s room. It was retrieved on Thursday.Police said that lately, Sahu had been seized by the belief that only human sacrifice could reunite him with his wife. “He had been on the lookout for a victim when he spotted Kharsel at a bus stand,” said an official.According to Balangir Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhilash G, the police have seized the weapon of offence and other articles from the house of the accused. A forensics team examined the crime scene and found blood samples, police added.“We have evidence that Sahu is the killer. We have his confessional statement, too. Also, we seized clothes from his house with blood stains of the victim. We are trying to file the chargesheet within 60 days,” said the Balangir SP.Story continues below this adThe senior officer said that it was when the police recovered the severed head from the house of the accused that they changed their course of investigation.The police said they suspected a case of human sacrifice after puja material, used in similar cases that surfaced in the last few years, were recovered from the house of the accused.“We suspected that the accused had not concealed the severed head but preserved it, and led the investigation accordingly. The police also found blood samples on the brass deities and portraits in front of which Sahu was offering prayers,” said Abhilash.As per a newfound belief, Sahu thought that he would get back his wife if he offered human sacrifice, police said. “That superstition led him to commit the crime, as per his confession,” said the Balangir SP.Story continues below this adThe SP said that according to the family members of the victim, he was not in very sound mental state, which could be a reason he became an easy target for the accused.Though police ruled out involvement of others in the crime, the Balangir SP said further investigation is underway in the case.According to the neighbours of the accused, Sahu led a solitary life and had very little interaction with them.Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More Tags:bhubaneswarOdisha police