Bhubaneswar: A 40-year-old man was beheaded in an alleged case of human sacrifice in Odisha’s Balangir district. The incident took place at Bagada village under Deogaon police limits.

The victim has been identified as Santosh Kharsel of Tebada Munda village under Tusura police limits in Balangir.

The Deogaon police have arrested five persons, including prime accused Satrughana Sahoo, and seized a blood-stained sharp weapon from them.

The cops have also detained Sahoo’s mother, brother and sister-in-law for interrogation.

According to police, Sahoo had invited the victim to his house for a feast a few days ago. He and a few of his aides allegedly beheaded Kharsel while he was asleep and offered the latter’s blood to a ‘deity’ as part of the human sacrifice ritual.

Sahoo had buried Kharsel’s severed head in his house while disposing the headless body outside the village.

The police launched a probe into the incident after some villagers spotted the headless body on Thursday.

During investigation, the cops came to know that Kharsel was killed as part of a human sacrifice. They later arrested Sahoo and four others in connection with the incident.

During interrogation, Sahoo reportedly told the police that he performed the human sacrifice for the wellbeing of his family.

“Sahoo confessed to the crime during interrogation. The victim’s severed head has been dug out from Sahoo’s house. We have also recreated the crime scene as part of our investigation into the case,” said a police officer.