Team Herald
PONDA: The murder of a four-year-old girl in Usgao was not linked to black magic rituals, as initially suspected, but was the result of a heated argument between the victim’s mother and the accused, South Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Tikam Singh Verma confirmed on Friday.
Meanwhile the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court has remanded Babasaheb Alhat (52) and Pooja Alhat (38), residents of Usgao and originally from Gokak, Karnataka, to six days in police custody in connection with the brutal murder. Police retrieved the child’s body from the backyard of the accused couple’s house, where it had been buried.
Tension gripped Usgao on Thursday night when police recovered the remains of the child. Enraged locals gathered at the site, demanding strict action against the accused. Earlier speculation suggested that the murder was carried out as part of a black magic ritual to help the couple conceive a child. However, SP Verma ruled out this possibility, stating that forensic experts had found no evidence of occult practices at the crime scene.
“The deceased child’s mother and the accused woman had a heated argument over a matter. In a fit of rage, the accused couple took the child inside their house and killed her,” SP Verma stated.
As per police investigations, Pooja lured the girl into their house by offering her sweets. The couple then killed her by immersing her head in a water-filled tub. The post-mortem examination conducted at South Goa District Hospital confirmed the cause of death as "asphyxia due to simultaneous compression of the head, nostrils, and mouth using blunt force, with signs of immersion in water."
Police tracked the suspects after reviewing CCTV footage, which showed the child entering the accused’s home but never leaving.