Teacher sacrifices ‘possessed’ daughter

A 55-YEAR-OLD teacher on Wednesday allegedly ‘sacrificed’ his 20-year-old daughter in a remote village in Maharashtra because he believed ‘divine forces’ were governing her soul, police sourced said.

According to sources, the police on Thursday arrested Raybhan Tembhurne and his two wives, Reema and Sharda, for killing 20-year-old Ratna after neighbours in their Kudegaon village, 70 km from Bhandara, clashed with the police demanding her body be exhumed.

Tembhurne’s two other daughters — Reena and Asmita, both of whom are minors — are under detention.

Tembhurne, who had been teaching in the village for the last 20 years, was a superstitious person and often conducted

religious rituals at home, police sources said. He even insisted his family members shave their heads and remain bald, according to villagers.

“Damayanta Naktode, a priestess from a neighbouring village, had been performing a puja at the Tembhurne residence for the last 20 days,” said Brahmankar.

On Wednesday, Brahmankar saw Tembhurne bathing Ratna in the courtyard. Ratna was apparently dead, Brahmankar said. He saw a grave-like pit in the courtyard and alerted the police.

When the police arrived, Tembhurne reportedly told them: “Present age is Kalyug. We are on the threshold of Satyug. Divine forces were trying to govern Ratna’s soul. She yielded to them.”

As word spread, villagers gathered outside the Tembhurne house, where he and his family remained locked in. When the police exhumed the grave, they found Ratna’s body draped in saffron and blue. Her body has been sent for post-mortem.