Bhopal, October 26: Police in Madhya Pradesh have arrested a married couple, an occultist and two others in connection with the death of two sex workers in Gwalior and Morena districts. The couple, Bantu Bhadoria and his wife Mamta Bhadoria, allegedly killed two sex workers as part of "human sacrifice" ritual in hope to conceive baby. They were allegedly advised to do the killing by sorcerer Girvar Yadav. Bantu's sister Meera Rajawat and her live-in partner Neeraj Parmar allegedly helped the couple. Madhya Pradesh Shocker: Woman Called 'Witch', Brutally Murdered by Nephew in Mandsaur.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, police said Bantu and Mamta are married for 17 years but did not have a baby. They contacted Girvar Yadav who advised them to sacrifice a human. "Bantu discussed it with Meera and Neeraj. They made a plan of killing an orphan. Neeraj told the couple that he saw in a Bollywood movie a man kills a sex worker and doesn’t get arrested as nobody files any complaint of her missing," Gwalior Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi was quoted as saying. Ludhiana Shocker: Self-Proclaimed Sorcerer, Two Women Threaten to Kill Woman's Son Using Witchcraft; Booked.

The first victim  was a sex worker in Sarai Chola area of Morena. She was killed allegedly by Bantu and Neeraj on the intervening night of October 13 and 14. According to the police, Yadav rejected the body saying the sex worker was not killed "properly". "Neeraj then hired another sex worker on October 20. He took her to Bantu’s house in Purani Chhawni area, where they killed her by strangulating," the SP added.

The matter came to light when the second sex worker's body was found near the Indian Institute of Information and Management Technology (IIITM) on October 21. The body had fallen when the couple and Neeraj were carrying it to the occultist on motorcycle. Following investigation and analysis of CCTV footages, cops managed to nab Neeraj. During questioning, Neeraj revealed names of other suspects.

During investigation of the second murder, police learned that another sex worker had been killed days ago in Morena. "When they interrogated Neeraj, they found that she was also killed by them for the ritual," an officer said. All five accused have been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2021 02:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).