UMERKOT: Police have arrested a man for recently beheading two of his nephews, aged five and three years, in Rana Jagir village, though officials are still clueless as to the motive of the harrowing murders.

The suspect had gone to the village’s primary school to take away the victims’ third brother as well after probably having butchered the two but teachers stopped him.

Police officials said that Satram Das Meghwar was prime suspect in the case. He reportedly lured his nephews, Sunder and Narinder, into a nearby graveyard on the promise that he would buy them biscuits, they said.

The victims’ bodies were found after Satram’s arrest and they had since been sent to hospital for post mortem examination. Police acted swiftly to apprehend the suspect, who was visiting graves of saints in the area after committing the crime, and filed an initial FIR based on the complaint of the victims’ father, said the officials.

They said that the real motive behind the murders remained unclear.

The suspect was produced before a judicial magistrate on Friday and remanded in police custody for three days.

Eyewitnesses said that Satram was seen carrying the younger of the two victims in his arms as he walked towards the graveyard. When a local farmer questioned him by about the child, Satram reportedly claimed he was taking his nephew to buy him biscuits, they said.

A while later, he returned to the village, took the second child, and probably repeated the horrific act in a forested area behind a school, they said.

Satram came back to take his third nephew from school premises but luckily teachers did not permit the child to go with him, unknowingly preventing another tragedy, they said.

The brutal killings have left residents of Rana Jagir in shock and fear. They condemned the incident, called for swift justice and expressed concerns for the safety of other children in the area.

They feared the killings might be part of some spiritual ritual and urged authorities to conduct high-level inquiry to unearth real motive behind the tragedy. “We are committed to transparency and are leaving no stone unturned in this investigation,” said a police official.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024