Eight-month-old baby rescued from alleged sacrifice ritual

Members of the Child Welfare Committee and the district police rescued an eight-month-old boy on January 3, following a complaint of suspected ritual sacrifice for wealth.

According to the police and child protection sources, officials from Childline (1098) and the District Child Protection Unit acted on an anonymous tip that a child was about to be killed as part of the ritual. They raided the house located in Janatha Colony, Sulibele village, and rescued the baby.

Officials found that a couple, the baby’s adoptive parents, had dug a hole and placed a coconut, incense sticks, and other pooja items.

They had allegedly adopted the baby from a migrant worker couple from Kolar without following legal procedures. Both couples have been detained by the Sulibele police.

The child, reportedly atable, is undergoing a medical examination.

An investigation is under way into the circumstances of the attempted sacrifice and the alleged adoption and child-buying arrangements.