Assam: Four accused in in 2019 human sacrifice case near Kamakhya temple granted bail by District Court

The Additional District and Sessions Judge granted bail to four individuals accused in the shocking murder case that rocked Guwahati's Joy Durga temple during the Ambubachi Mela in 2019. The accused, identified as Pradeep Pathak (52), Mata Prasad Pandey (50), Suresh Paswan (56), and Bhaiyaram Maoriya (60), were released on bail today.

The arrests were made in connection to a human sacrifice incident that occurred on June 19, 2019, at the Joy Durga Mandir in Nilachal Hills during the annual Ambubachi Mela. The accused were part of a total of nine individuals arrested by the city police in April 2023.

Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah, who had earlier addressed a press conference on the incident, provided details about the gruesome discovery. He stated, "The beheaded body of an unidentified woman was found in the staircase of Joy Durga Mandir on June 19. In this connection, a suo-moto case was registered, and a detailed investigation was launched."

He said , "We found the beheaded body of an unidentified woman in the staircase of Joy Durga Mandir on June 19. In connection with this, we registered a suo-moto case under the Jalukbari Police Station and launched a detailed investigation. On July 28, 2019, the son of the victim, Suresh Shaw, from Tatipara in West Bengal’s Hooghly, reached the Jalukbari Police Station after learning about the news of the recovery of the headless body of the woman. Based on her apparels and other identification marks, he identified the victim as his mother, Santi Shaw (64)."

Barah revealed that the victim was later identified as Santi Shaw (64), a resident of Tatipara in West Bengal's Hooghly, by her son, Suresh Shaw. According to Suresh, his mother had come to Kamakhya for the Ambubachi Mela in June 2019 and had been missing since then.

A special police team was constituted to investigate the incident, and the arrests were made in April 2023. Out of the nine accused, the court has now granted bail to Pradeep Pathak, Mata Prasad Pandey, Suresh Paswan, and Bhaiyaram Maoriya.