A Nepalese man has confessed to the murder of a young boy after saying a local holy man advised him that a human sacrifice would heal his ailing son, local police said.
The body of 10-year-old Jivan Kohar was found on July 24 on the outskirts of Kudiya village in southwest Nepal. The child had gone missing three days earlier.
Police superintendent Nal Prasad Upadhyaya, who headed the investigation, told CNN on Monday that Kodai Harijan admitted committing the gruesome crime with his relatives after consulting the priest. In some cultures, priests are believed to have magical or spiritual powers to cure the sick.
Shelter, fuel, food, medicine, power, news, workers — Nepal’s earthquake-hit capital was short on everything Monday as its people searched for lost loved ones, sorted through rubble for their belongings and struggled to provide for their families’ needs. In much of the countryside, it was worse, though how much worse was only beginning to become apparent.
The official overall death toll soared past 4,000, even without a full accounting from vulnerable mountain villages that rescue workers were still struggling to reach two days after the disaster.
Udav Prashad Timalsina, the top official for the Gorkha district, where Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 quake was centered, said he was in desperate need of help.
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, killing hundreds, destroying homes and ancient temples, and triggering at least one avalanche on Mount Everest.
A police official said 449 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal, The Associated Press reported. Some 30 died in neighboring countries where the quake was felt, including 20 in India, AP added.
Reuters reported that 688 people had died, quoting a senior home ministry source. There was no explanation for the different estimates and NBC News was not able to immediately confirm the death toll.
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James' World 2 