Hyderabad, September 15: Locals in Telangana's Kommala village illegally exhumed the body of a Dalit man, who drowned in a village tank nine months ago. Villagers dug up Midthanapalli Bhiksham's body earlier this month to get rid of "evil" and ensure rains, The Hindu reported. Villagers separated the skull from bones and set it on fire 500 metres from the grave. Bhiksham's family came to know about this on September 10 and informed the Arvapally police. Kolkata Shocker: Man Lives With Sister’s Dead Body For Over A Week In Dum Dum City.

According to Bhiksham's family, had left his house on December 15, 2018, to tend cattle but did not return. On December 22, his decomposed body was found in the sludge of the Kodur village tank. Following an in situ post-mortem in the presence of police, revenue and medical officials, his remains were buried on the tank bund on December 23. No one from Kodur village, to whom the tank belongs, had opposed the burial then. Mumbai Man Threw Three-Year-Old From Colaba Building on 'God's Command' to Get Rid of Black Magic.

In August this year, a group of caste Hindus and SCs, including the village sarpanch’s son, all members of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), had raised objections and ordered immediate shifting of the remains. “They said the village was under evil spell due to Bhiksham’s grave," victim’s brother-in-law S Venkataiah was quoted as saying. The family agreed to shift the grave under pressure from the upper castes but sought 10 days time.

However,  on September 1, a fisherman noticed large tyre marks on the grave site, indicating that a tractor or an excavator was used to shift Bhiksham's body. The police said that the matter has been resolved between the family and those exhumed Bhiksham's body.

"The accused have confessed to their mistake. Dignity of the dead, and the family, will be restored and the accused are constructing a new grave. There is no case; it has been settled," sub-inspector P Lokesh was quoted as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2019 12:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).