Sep 27, Kathmandu- Five people have been arrested in connection with the killing of a seven-year-old boy in an alleged ritual sacrifice aimed at bringing good luck at a public school, police said on Friday.

The child victim was found dead on Sunday night in his own bed in a hostel of Hathras town, near the famous Taj Mahal. Instead of informing the authorities, school director Dinesh Baghel hid the body in the trunk of his car, police said.

Police officer Himanshu Mathur said that the boy was killed before the black magic (tantric method) ceremony organized by Baghel's father. "The plan was to take the child to the altar as part of the ritual, but he was killed before the ceremony could be completed", he said.

According to Mathur, Baghel and his father along with three other teachers of the school have been arrested. Mathur has not provided any information about how the died child. Local media reported that the body was being examined.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, between 2014 and 2021, one hundred and three cases of human sacrifice have been registered across the country.

Ritual killings are generally done to appease the gods. Human sacrifice is more prevalent in tribal and remote areas where belief in witchcraft and occultism is widespread.

Last year, the police arrested five people for the murder of a 64-year-old woman in 2019. The woman was murdered and beheaded after visiting a temple in India's far northeast region. According to the police, the main accused was performing a religious ritual to celebrate the death anniversary of his brother.