The National Commission for Women (NCW) is investigating the alleged killing of a 12-year-old girl in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, reportedly as part of an occult ritual. The NCW panel visited the site and met with the victim's family and locals, but reported a lack of cooperation from local authorities in providing key documents related to the case.
A man has been arrested in Hapur for allegedly removing part of a skull from a burning pyre to influence a woman through occult practice.
A 37-year-old self-styled godman was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly cheating several people by claiming to possess divine powers and performing 'aghori' rituals.
Pune Police have registered a case of abetment against an unidentified godman in connection with the alleged suicide of a 25-year-old music student in Pune. The student, Renuka Harshvardhan Likhite, was found dead in her hostel after transferring money to the godman for occult rituals.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has alleged a link between a godman and the fatal plane crash involving his uncle, Ajit Pawar, and has demanded a CID interrogation.
Ahmedabad police have solved a 34-year-old murder case after exhuming skeletal remains from a house in Vatva. The victim's husband and his brother are suspected of murdering her in 1992 due to an extramarital affair. Family members' dreams and occult rituals led to the discovery.
An 11-year-old boy was brutally murdered in Rajasthan's Pali district in what police are suspecting to be a case of human sacrifice. The accused, a 30-year-old man from the same village as the victim, allegedly committed the murder after a 'tantrik' (occultist) assured him that making a human sacrifice would solve his long-standing marital problems.
Police in Hazaribag, Jharkhand, have arrested a mother, an occult practitioner, and a man in connection with the ritualistic killing of a teenage girl. The girl was allegedly strangled as a sacrifice to cure the mother's ailing son.
Police in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, have arrested a mother, an occult practitioner, and a man in connection with the ritualistic killing of a teenage girl. The girl was allegedly strangled as a sacrifice to cure the mother's son.
In a shocking case in Indore, a 24-year-old MBA student was murdered by her classmate, who allegedly performed occult rituals and mistreated her body.
Police in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, have arrested a mother, an occult practitioner, and a man in connection with the sacrificial ritual killing of a teenage girl. The arrests follow an investigation into the girl's death, initially reported as a rape and murder.
Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, has resigned following criticism over her association with rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat. The resignation comes after opposition parties highlighted Chakankar's links with Kharat, who is accused of sexual assault and fraud.
Jharkhand's ruling JMM party held rallies and the Congress party alleged a BJP link in the murder case of a 12-year-old girl, while the BJP denies any involvement and accuses the ruling alliance of defamation.
Self-styled 'godman' and numerologist Ashok Kharat has been arrested in Nashik on charges of sexual assault and black magic, setting off a political storm. How did he manage to operate undetected for so long?
Police in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, have arrested a mother, an occult practitioner, and a man in connection with the ritualistic killing of a teenage girl. The girl was allegedly sacrificed to cure the mother's son.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare has called for a thorough investigation into the Ashok Kharat case, urging Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prioritise the investigation over political manoeuvring. Andhare also demanded that the SIT probe former minister Deepak Kesarkar and former state women's commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar.
The police said Kamruddin convinced the three victims to perform a special "pooja" for 'dhanvarsha' and instructed them to arrange Rs 2 lakh in cash along with liquor and cold drinks for the ritual.
A 25-year-old individual from Madhya Pradesh who underwent a gender reassignment procedure has accused her lover of rape and physical abuse after he refused to marry her following the surgery, a police official said on Thursday.
The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has ordered a probe after a video of an occultist performing a ritual on an ICU patient went viral. The occultist, who identified himself as Mukesh Bhuva, claimed credit for the patient's treatment in the video. The hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Rakesh Joshi, urged people not to believe the occultist's claims and said the incident is being investigated. The hospital is reviewing CCTV footage to determine how the occultist entered the ICU. The incident has sparked outrage, with rationalist Jayant Pandya calling for immediate action against those responsible.
Some Indian museum collections go far beyond the expected, unlocking quirky facts you never knew about. Or displaying the most intriguing items.
A 42-year-old tantrik arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder a businessman died in police custody in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, after confessing to killing 12 people by giving them drinks laced with sodium nitrite. Navalsinh Chavda was arrested on December 3 and died on Sunday after falling ill. Police are investigating his occult practices and possible involvement in human sacrifices.
"Sahil got Muskan to kill her husband. First, he made her sit on Saurabh's chest. Then he brought a knife from the kitchen, showed her how to wield it and directed her to insert the knife in Saurabh's heart thrice.
There's an obvious attempt to startle with its gruesome imagery of severed heads skewered on chopped limbs and peeled-off faces but it's too tacky to elicit any real dread, observes Sukanya Verma.
According to experts, religious and spiritual influences can affect life decisions beyond the normal.
The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), which runs Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, has accused its former trustees and related individuals of misappropriating over Rs 1,500 crore. The trust has filed complaints with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Bandra Police Station, alleging that the misappropriation, uncovered during a forensic audit, has impacted the trust's operations and healthcare services. The trust has also claimed that black magic was performed in the hospital premises by former trustees and related individuals. The Bandra Magistrate Court has ordered an inquiry against these individuals. The current trustees have identified large-scale irregularities in the hospital management body's affairs and appointed forensic auditors who found that over Rs 1,500 crore has been siphoned and misappropriated by the former trustees. The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has initiated a probe into an alleged cheating case of Rs 85 crore registered against three former trustees of the hospital.
Thrillers, scams, cults and corruption, things get pretty intense on OTT this week.
Dismissing reports of the Burari family practising superstitious rituals, Vishakha said all the cousins were excited about Priyanka's (one of the victims) wedding and "things like registers with notes on salvation" never came up for any discussion among them.
If there is any actor who emerges from this wreck with his talent unscathed, it is Vijay Raaz, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Decapitated ghosts, ancient ghosts, devil judges, devious cartoons, angry young women, it's a super flavourful platter of assorted goodies on the OTT menu this week.
A neighbour, on the condition of anonymity, said the Bhatia family would never invite neighbours to their house.
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
They detailed how by following the rituals, one would not actually die "but would be saved by God and attain something great".
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
A nation that aspires to be a superpower and wants to join the ranks of global leaders in knowledge, science and technology should declare an all out war on ills like superstition and black magic at all levels, says Dinesh C Sharma.
While filled with startling insights and questions, and buoyed by terrific performances throughout, Newton suffers from a lack of end-to-end clarity. It is a near-great film but one that for some reason doesn't express itself fully, feels Sreehari Nair.
