Nagpur, Maharashtra: A 5-year-old girl is dead and her father, mother, and aunt are behind bars, charged with her death.
According to The Print, 45-year-old Siddharth Chimne and his wife, 42-year-old Ranjana Chimne, took their daughters, 5 and 16, to a religious tomb during the Hindu festival of Guru Purnima.
The Times of India writes that the festival was celebrated this year on Wednesday, July 13, and that "Guru is the one who removes darkness from our lives."
Following that visit, however, Siddharth allegedly began to notice behavioral changes in his youngest daughter and on Friday, August 5, conducted a ritual with the assistance of his wife and 32-year-old Priya Bansod.
Bansod is reported to be the children's' aunt, but her relation to either Siddharth or Ranjana was not disclosed.
Investigators stated that the adults intended to use black magic to drive the evil forces away from the child.
During the ritual, which was captured on a cell phone, the adults are heard questioning the girl. She is seen weeping and appears terrified in the video. Authorities said the video showed the girl was confused by the questions and unable to respond.
The video proceeds to show that the adults slapped and beat the girl, who eventually became unresponsive.
The trio then took the girl back to the tomb for a time before taking her to the Government Medical College and Hospital and fleeing.
An observant security guard at the hospital found the group suspicious and so, snapped a quick image with his cell phone of the vehicle that they departed in.
It was that very image that allowed officers to track the family once they were notified by the hospital that the girl had died.
The three have now been booked under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices, and Black Magic act.