Ranchi, December 26: A man allegedly killed his mother-in-law to perform the human sacrifice ritual of witchcraft and drank her blood to 'gain greater powers'. The incident took place at Rangamati village in Ranchi of Jharkhand on Monday night. The accused, identified as 30-year-old Fhalindra Lohra, was arrested on Tuesday for practising witchcraft and killing his mother-in-law Sakuri Devi, 45.

Fhalindra had arrived at his wife's house last week. Around 4 pm on Monday, his father-in-law, Parna Lohra, found Devi’s body lying in a pool of blood. The accused had fled the scene upon seeing his father-in-law who informed the police and filed a complaint. The police reached the spot and launched a manhunt to nab the accused. Maharashtra: Man Held for Raping Woman on Promise of Removing ‘Black Magic’.

Fhalindra was later arrested from a relative's house. "Fhalindra confessed that he was a practitioner of witchcraft. To obtain greater powers, he killed Devi with a sharp weapon and then drank her blood," Chiranjit Prasad, police station officer-in-charge, told a leading daily. The police also found a duck with its neck severed along with a buffalo calf with injuries on its neck.

Last month, a 23-year-old man was arrested from Maharashtra's Palghar district for assaulting his grandmother on suspicion that she practised black magic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2018 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).