A 72-year-old priest in Odisha hacked a man to death to offer him as human sacrifice to appease the gods and ward off the coronavirus pandemic.
The accused priest has been identified as Sansari Ojha (72), who is the priest of Bandha Maa Budha Brahmani Dei Temple. He later surrendered before the police on Wednesday night soon after committing the crime.
The deceased man has been identified as Saroj Kumar Pradhan (52). According to the accused, an argument erupted between him and Pradhan at the temple over the ‘sacrifice’.
As the argument aggravated, Ojha hacked him to death with a sharp weapon. The man died on the spot after he received the blow on his head.
During interrogation, the priest said he committed the murder after receiving ‘orders from god’ in his dream in which he saw that human sacrifice will dispel the coronavirus.