Aunt tries black magic, kills two children

Dolly, the prime accused

Mumbai: Nalasopara Police are trying to rope in a relative of two children who died allegedly when their aunt tried black magic on them to exorcise "evil spirits', strangling them in the process, to stand as prosecution witness.
Police suspect the aunt, Dolly, had tried the same voodoo on another aunt of the children, Renu, who, however, did not die and was said to be recuperating in a hospital. Seven members of the Jaiswal family, including the parents and grandparents were arrested on Saturday. Police suspect Renu's husband Sanjay Jaiswal, who is absconding, was also present when the black magic was tried on the children, Om (5) and Ritika (2), who died on Friday. They are conducting inquiries to trace Sanjay.
Renu is also believed to have suffered the same torture at the hands of Dolly, the prime accused, said the police.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Thane Rural) Deepak Devraj said, "Dolly believed she was blessed with divine powers and had tonsured and tortured Renu a few days before the children died as she believed Renu was also possessed. The family had moved Renu to a hospital for treatment and she had been recuperating when the children died. Though Renu was not present at the time of the murder, it is obvious she knew about Dolly's black magic practice and we intend to bring her in as a prosecution witness. We will take her statement soon."
Meanwhile, police claimed the seven arrested did not show any regret. "We sought their remand to inquire whether there were any other person, like any 'tantrik', to help them during the incident and also to check if the children had faced any torture in the past as a result of the exorcism," added Devraj.