A seven year old boy is alleged to have become the victim of superstition in Garo Hills. He was apparently made a human sacrifice to appease the Gods at a time when people across the country were celebrating Dussehra- a festival that signifies the triumph of good over evil. Preliminary reports say that the bizarre incident happened inside the camp of a para military organisation. If this is established beyond a reasonable doubt then the force itself is guilty by association. The body of the boy was found outside the gates of the headquarters of the para-military organisation. Religion has its place in every civilised society but human sacrifices have long since ceased
to be part of modern culture or so we would like to believe. But superstition which compels human beings to commit irrational acts continues to be a driving force in many societies despite modern education and all that it does to dispel irrational beliefs. The dastardly crime committed on an innocent young boy allegedly by a Tantrik or a god-man who was seen inside the premises of the para-military organisation has raised several difficult questions for the force itself. People of Tura where the crime occurred are unable to believe that such a thing could happen in this day and age. Police have registered a case of murder but the Tantrik is believed to have escaped to Assam where he is being protected by his fellow believers. For the sake of justice and the rule of law, the man who committed this gruesome crime must be punished. Post mortem reports suggest that the young boy’s body bore all the marks of torture. His internal organs showed signs of rupture which means that some sharp instruments were thrust inside his vulnerable body. Can there be a religion which sanctions such brutality in today’s India? It sounds unbelievable, yet there is no way of discounting the incident. It is the hope of all civilised citizens in Meghalaya that the culprit is arrested forthwith and brought back to the scene of the crime and that the rule of law supersedes all other religious considerations. Nothing short of this will heal the hearts of the parents who have lost an innocent child.