Nepalese Boy Slain in Human Sacrifice to Cure Another Boy

A Nepalese boy was slain in a human sacrifice last week, hacked to death in belief that it  would cure another boy suffering from health problems, the Himalayan Times reported.

Authorities arrested five people for their involvement in the death of the 10-year-old boy whose body was discovered Friday.

Reuters reported police official Nal Prasad Upadhyaya as saying the decomposed body of Jivan Kohar was found in a bush in Kudiya village in Nawalparasi district, near the India border. The boy's throat had been cut.

A man identified by the Times as Kodai Harijan, 35, said he killed Kohar as a sacrifice after consulting a village shaman. A shaman is a tribal healer who can act as a medium between the visible world and the spirit world.

The Kathmandu Post reported that the man believed the sacrifice would "chase away the evil spirits" from his own 18-year-old son who had been ill.

Many who live in Nepal, which is 80 percent Hindu, kill animals like goats, buffaloes and rosters as a religious sacrifice.

The Times said Harijan lured the young child with biscuits and money.

"Then I slaughtered him," said Harijan. "I bought some incense sticks and camphor and also called the shaman (Ganga) and two other friends – Rudal and Suryabhan."

"Rudal held his hands and head, Suryabhan caught his feet. Then I brought a gadasa – a hatchet – and cut his throat. We had not planned to offer that very boy. But, we found only him around that time," said Harijan.

Kodai Harijan was arrested on murder charges along with Ganga Harijan, 40; Rudal Harijan, 50; Surya Bhan Harijan and Bijay Harijan, 18.

Kohar was reportedly a third grader at a local school. Once the news of his death became public, local residents destroyed Kodai Harijan's home.

Related Stories:

• Nepal Earthquake Toll: 3,700 Dead, Many Thousands Injured
  
• Earthquake: Shangrila Orphanage and Others Destroyed in Nepal