A shocking and strange incident has created fear and confusion in Umred town of the district. The ashes and bones of a deceased young woman disappeared from the crematorium and police suspect that they may have been taken for witchcraft or some unholy practice. Umred Police said that a 23-year-old woman from Umred died due to illness on Monday morning. After post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family and the last rites were performed around 1 pm at the crematorium near Bhiwapur Y-Point in Umred.

 

On Tuesday morning, around 8 am, the relatives of the deceased went again to the crematorium to collect the ashes and bones, which are normally collected after cremation as per rituals. But when they reached the spot, they found that the ashes and bones had disappeared. They immediately informed other family members. The family suspects that someone stole the ashes and bones for witchcraft or black magic. The deceased girl’s maternal uncle, who is 44 years old, lodged a formal complaint with Umred Police. Police have now registered a case against unknown accused. While confirming the case, an officer from Umred Police said, “Yes, we received a complaint and the ashes and remaining bones were not found at the cremation spot. We have registered an FIR and started investigation.”

 

The police also said that this is a serious matter. The investigating officer said, “We are not ruling out the angle of witchcraft. The sections applied clearly suggest that some suspicious and illegal act may have taken place. We will check CCTV footage, local movements and people who visited the crematorium.” Police have registered the offence under Sections 3 and 2 of the Maharashtra Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman and Unholy Practices and Witchcraft (Prevention and Eradication) Act, 2013 and Section 301 of BNS. Investigations are on. Police teams are questioning people in the nearby areas and checking all angles.