Man held for killing teenager in MP; video claims cannibalism

Damoh (MP), Mar 6 (PTI) A 58-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing a 16-year-old boy, with a viral video claiming that he resorted to cannibalism, police said on Friday.

The incident took place in Sammana village under Dehat police station limits, about 7 km from the district headquarters, on Thursday, they said.

Victim Bharat Vishwakarma, a resident of Arthkheda, had gone to the village to get a ceremonial ‘tika’ applied by his sister Diksha Vishwakarma, who is married in the Sammana area, an official said.

Bharat was riding a motorcycle when accused Gudda Patel suddenly attacked him with an iron rod and hammer, killing him on the spot, City Superintendent of Police H R Pandey.

A relative accompanying the victim managed to escape during the attack.

Police are also probing a video that has surfaced with the claim that Patel ate a part of the victim’s brain and drank his blood, the official said.

After killing the teenager, Patel fled towards nearby fields holding the rod and hammer. Villagers surrounded him and began pelting stones before police reached the spot and took him into custody, the officer said.

Pandey said the accused had been released from jail about two years ago after serving a sentence in connection with the murder of his wife.

A relative of the victim’s sister demanded that Patel be given the death penalty.