Residents of Khani Bazar Sahi under Soso police Station in Ganjam district ransacked a nearby school after the shirt of a missing boy was found on its premises on Friday. Villagers strongly suspect that the missing boy has been killed as part of a sacrifice ritual.
As per reports, Dibakar, seven-year-old son of Bijay Purti from the village went missing from his house last Wednesday, however, the desperate search for the child by his family members did not yield any results.
Later, the shirt of the missing child was found on the premises of an English Medium School nearby the area fuelling suspicion among the locals that a contract company, which was operating in the area to dig a canal, has allegedly sacrificed the child.
Palpable tension gripped the area following the development as hundreds of incensed villagers ransacked the school premises apart from torching few machines of the construction company. Situation returned to normalcy when Soso police reached the spot and dispersed the mob.
“My nephew was at home when I went away for work. When I returned home, I found him missing. After relentless search, his shirt was found in the school. We strongly suspect that the child has been sacrificed by the construction company,” said Dibakar’s aunt Sunamani Purty.
Meanwhile, Soso police has registered a case and started an investigation into the incident.
“The family has not filed any missing complaint so far. They are suspecting that the child has been sacrificed. However, this may not be true. The situation is under control now. We are trying our best to trace the missing child at the earliest,” said Soso IIC Upendranath Dash.
(Edited by Suryakant Jena)