Punjab woman murders pregnant neighbour, cuts open womb, pulls out foetus on tantrik’s advice

In a shocking incident, a woman allegedly murdered her pregnant neighbour in Punjab’s Gurdaspur. Advised by a local witchdoctor (tantrik), the accused cut open the womb, pulled out the foetus in hope to bring it up as her own child. The accused has been identified as one Ravinder Kaur from Gurdaspur’s Kala Nangal village. According to an Indian Express report, the 40-year-old accused has four children from her first marriage. She had undergone tubectomy before getting a divorce and marrying for second time. Unable to conceive with her second husband, the accused consulted a local witchdoctor, who advised her to carry out the ghastly act.

The Indian Express report said that the crime came to light only after the victim’s husband lodged a missing complaint on April 27. The victim identified as 32-year-old Jasbir Kaur. She was seven month pregnant. The accused invited Jasbir for a meeting and later strangulated her and cut open the womb. Based on the husband’s complaint police lodged an FIR under sections 302, 313, 316, 201 and 120(B) of IPC against Ravinder Kaur, her husband Gurpreet Singh, latter’s parents Puran Singh and Joginder Kaur, and his sisters Nittu Kaur and Aman Kaur.   

Witchdoctors performing black magic or suspicion of black magic has been reason behind many crimes, especially in rural India. Recently, a 30-year-old man had murdered his mother because he suspected that she was 'doing black magic on him.' According to news agency ANI, the incident took place on December 23 in a village in Telangana. Boinpalle Police of Rajanna Sircilla District said that, "On December 23, a person by the name of Srinivas, killed his mother by strangulating her to death. He suspected that his mother practiced black magic on him, from which he was falling ill often. So the accused decided to murder his 52-year-old mother at her residence." The man has been booked under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.