Police in Karnataka’s Ramanagaram district have arrested four people in connection with the murder of a 10-year-old girl, who they believed was sacrificed in a black magic ritual to cure her ailing uncle, The Hindu reported. Ayesha, a Class 4 student from the town of Magadi, had gone missing on February 28, and her body was found in a gunny bag along three days later. Police suspected black magic when they discovered some turmeric and a lemon in the bag with her, The News Minute reported.

The uncle, Mohammed Wasil, 42 was among those arrested. Police said he was allegedly advised to kill the girl by a resident of Goripalya named Naseem Taj, who claimed a potential sacrifice would cure Wasil of a stroke he had previously suffered. “She [Taj] had suggested that Wasil had been gripped by evil spirits and left paralysed,” the police told the English daily.

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Local residents stormed Wasil’s house after the incident came to light. Police were originally probing a property dispute angle after the girl’s parents had filed a missing persons complaint.

Several cases of black magic have been reported from the state in the past. Practitioners are known to suggest the sacrifice of a pre-pubescent girls in return for major boons. In 2016, a believer in black magic cursed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.