BHAKKAR: A villager was arrested on Monday on suspicion of cannibalism after the heads of two babies were found at his house. His brother managed to escape, prompting police to launch a hunt for him.

Mohammad Arif and Farman had been found guilty of the same crime in March 2011 and jailed. They were released in May last year after serving a two-year sentence.

On Monday police raided their house in Kahawar Kalan village, near Darya Khan town in Bhakkar district, after neighbours complained of an overpowering stench.

A grisly scene awaited them – the heads of the two babies.

Arif admitted having eaten the child after his brother had stolen the body from a graveyard.

“Arif has been arrested and he has admitted that his brother brought the body of the baby from the nearby graveyard,” Ameer Abdullah, police chief of Bhakkar district, told reporters.

“Arif said the two of them cooked the body and ate it.”

Another police official said the men’s wives and other family members had left them several years ago and now they had the whole house to themselves.

Since there is no law against cannibalism in the penal code, Arif has been charged with dishonouring a body and public order offences.

The same charges were made three years ago. On that occasion police had found the body of a 24-year-old woman who had died of cancer at the two men’s house. A leg was missing since they had eaten it.

Talking to Dawn, Najeebullah Khan, MPA of PML-N from Darya Khan, called upon the government to consider making a law to discourage cannibalism.

The shocking discovery sent a wave of panic through the village, forcing many people to check the graves of their relatives.

According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has called for a report from the Bhakkar DPO about the episode.