Superstitious Satara woman kills four-year-old grandson, arrested

A 50-year-old woman killed her four-year-old grandson on Monday afternoon at Dhondewadi village near Karad in Satara district. The police suspect the child was killed either due to superstition or a family feud.

The police have arrested the suspect, Vimal Damodar Kakade, along with her sister Narmada, 40, and Narmada’s husband Tanaji Kakade, 55.

The deceased, Pranav Sambhaji Kakade, had gone missing since May 7 and a complaint was registered with Karad Rural police station. The police called in a dog squad but were unable to trace Pranav.

“The Kakades are a joint family and had recently constructed a new house next to their existing home. On Sunday night, some neighbours informed the police about the stink emanating from their home,” the police said.

After searching the house, the police recovered the victim’s dead body inside a wooden cot. The post-mortem report revealed that Pranav was strangled to death.

The feedback the local police got from locals is that the suspects are highly superstitious. According to the police, since the last few days, the suspects were claiming that mysterious things were happening at their home, like sudden burning of clothes, and traces of vermilion on the forehead of Pranav’s two-year-old cousin Sanika. Since then, Pranav was not allowed to play with Sanika.

“We suspect that the family members held Pranav responsible for these mysterious happenings,” the police said.
Police inspector of Karad rural police station, Barkat Mujawar, said that the police have got custody of the suspects for a week.