Man beheads granddaughter for good harvest

In a gruesome incident, a man chopped off the head of his nine-year-old granddaughter to woo “Mother Earth” for a good harvest this kharif season. Traditional belief has it that human sacrifice on Akshaya Tritiya translates into a good harvest.

With this belief, Rajesh Hembram, 55, a farmer, beheaded his nine-year-old granddaughter Berenika Kandulana with an axe on Sunday afternoon and collected her blood in a steel pot. The incident took place at Adapathar village in Sambalpur district.
Akshaya Trutiya marks the beginning of the kharif season. Preparations for the famous Ratha Yatra also begin from this day.

Berenika was the daughter of Rajesh’s daughter. He adopted her after his son-in-law died six years back. The girl was studying in Class IV.

Rajesh has three acres of land and he had been preparing to start cultivation on Monday. All his relatives had gone to the church for Sunday morning prayers. In the afternoon, Rajesh sent his wife to a nearby shop to bring grams (pea) for him. As soon as she left, Rajesh took his granddaughter to the store where paddy is kept. He forced a piece of cloth into her mouth and chopped off her head using an axe.

He collected the girl’s blood in a steel pan and left the mutilated body in the store. On returning from the shop, Rajesh’s wife was shocked to see the horrifying incident. She screamed and people rushed to the spot. Locals handed Rajesh over to the police who seized the steel pan and axe. Rajesh confessed to his crime.