Indian police have arrested five men accused of conducting a human sacrifice, nearly four years after the discovery of the victim's headless body at a Hindu temple left officers baffled.
Shanti Shaw, 64, was killed and decapitated with a machete in 2019 after visiting the temple in Guwahati, a city in India's remote northeast.
Police made no headway in the case until Shaw's body was finally identified in January, sparking a renewed investigation that tracked down several culprits, with others still at large.
"The five planned the killing of the woman," Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah told reporters late Tuesday. "A total of 12 people took part."
Barah said the alleged ringleader, Pradeep Pathak, 52, had orchestrated the killing as part of a religious rite to mark the anniversary of his brother's death.
Indian police have arrested five men accused of conducting a human sacrifice, nearly four years after the discovery of the victim's headless body at a Hindu temple left officers baffled.
Shanti Shaw, 64, was killed and decapitated with a machete in 2019 after visiting the temple in Guwahati, a city in India's remote northeast.
Police made no headway in the case until Shaw's body was finally identified in January, sparking a renewed investigation that tracked down several culprits, with others still at large.
"The five planned the killing of the woman," Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah told reporters late Tuesday. "A total of 12 people took part."
Barah said the alleged ringleader, Pradeep Pathak, 52, had orchestrated the killing as part of a religious rite to mark the anniversary of his brother's death.
