On March 24, residents of a village in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand awoke to a cloudy morning, coinciding with Shashti, the sixth day of Ram Navami. As the day progressed, the clouds dissipated, leading to a warmer afternoon. By evening, a gentle breeze made the atmosphere pleasant as dusk settled over the village.
While Hazaribagh town, located approximately 50 kilometers from the village, hosted the state’s largest Ram Navami celebration—the International Ramnavami procession—the village itself was alive with its own vibrant festivities. Following the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in 2024, the village had adopted a “Mangala” procession in honor of Mangalwar (Tuesday).
On that Tuesday morning, women began their day early by applying fresh cow dung to the floors of their homes and cleaning their courtyards, seeking divine blessings. By late afternoon, large crowds gathered at the village temple dedicated to Shiva and Hanuman, where the procession was set to commence, winding its way 400 meters to the government middle school compound.
Young people from the village and nearby areas danced energetically to loud DJ music, despite the Jharkhand government’s prohibition on such gatherings. Children raced ahead, while the older villagers followed at a more leisurely pace.
A 12-year-old girl from the village participated in the procession with her elder sister. Around 6 to 6:30 PM, as twilight fell, the elder sister informed the younger one that it was time to head home. The younger girl, however, wished to keep dancing with her friends, prompting her sister to leave without her.
When their mother inquired about her younger daughter’s location, the elder sister indicated that she was still with the procession. As night enveloped the village, concern grew when the girl failed to return. The family initially waited, but as time passed, anxiety turned into urgency.
The mother began searching for her daughter, with neighbors joining the frantic effort to scour the procession route, temple grounds, and schoolyard.
As dawn broke on March 25, the village was struck by horror when a villager discovered the girl’s lifeless body concealed beneath bamboo shrubs less than a kilometer from her home. The village head was alerted, who then informed the police. A police team arrived at the scene and took the body for a post-mortem examination.
Before the investigation could commence, rumors began to circulate, quickly spreading from the village to Hazaribagh and Ranchi, the state capital. Media representatives and government officials soon flocked to the village, and social media amplified various narratives surrounding the tragic incident.
The girl’s mother lodged a formal complaint against a fellow villager, alleging that he had kidnapped and murdered her daughter. It was widely known that the family had a contentious land dispute with this individual, which had required intervention from the local panchayat on two occasions.
As the police delved into the allegations, they detained the accused on March 26. The man, who worked as a lineman for a private company in Rajasthan, was interrogated for several hours. Meanwhile, law enforcement established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by IPS officer N S Bhausaheb to examine the case.
However, the detainee was released shortly after, as he maintained his innocence and the police found no corroborating evidence linking him to the crime. He was instructed to remain available in the village for the ongoing investigation.
The post-mortem report later revealed no signs of sexual assault, attributing the cause of death to strangulation. While police refrained from disclosing additional information, they suggested that the child may have been killed between 9:00 and 9:45 PM on March 24.
Investigators retraced the girl’s steps from the moment she left home to join the procession. They also posted notices around the village promising rewards for information related to the crime, assuring informants of confidentiality.
Despite these efforts, suspicion and fear persisted, particularly due to the mother’s allegations. The police’s decision to release the local man incited political backlash, with right-wing groups and opposition parties criticizing the Mukti Morcha (JMM) government.
In Ranchi, the BJP accused the government of failing to deliver justice, while right-wing organizations threatened statewide protests. The state government opted not to comment publicly at that time.
On March 30, the Jharkhand High Court took notice of the situation, expressing grave concern over the police’s “lethargic attitude.” Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan informed the court that a technical team was working to establish connections through mobile location data, although no suspects had been apprehended up to that point. The court cautioned that the SP would be held “personally accountable” for ensuring the safety of the victim’s family.
The SIT began summoning villagers who had participated in the procession, including a fruit vendor, after the autopsy revealed that the girl had consumed watermelon that evening.
On March 31, police arrested three individuals: the mother and two locals—a man and a woman. In a late-night press briefing, SP Anjan and DIG Anjani Kumar Jha revealed a shocking development.
They announced that the case involved “narbali” (human sacrifice) allegedly committed by the victim’s own family, driven by superstition and occult beliefs.
SP Anjan detailed that the parents of the victim had married around 2002-2003, with the father belonging to an OBC community and the mother hailing from a village 120 kilometers away. They had four children: a 21-year-old daughter, an 18-year-old son, a 15-year-old daughter, and the 12-year-old victim.
