A 15-year-old boy was murdered in Madhya Pradesh's Multai area after a neighbour suspected his mother of practising witchcraft — and blamed her alleged black magic for his decade-long inability to father a child. The accused stuffed the boy's body in a sack and threw it into a deep ravine to conceal the crime. He was arrested Monday night after confessing to the killing during police interrogation.

The victim, Sudama (15), son of Mohan Ewnate, was a resident of Taikheda village under Multai police station limits. He had been missing since June 20. When his family's search yielded nothing, they filed a complaint with Multai police.

Station In-charge Vikas Patel led a search operation across Hathaikheda and surrounding areas. During the investigation, suspicion fell on Rakesh Uike (30), also a resident of Hathaikheda. He was taken into custody and broke down under questioning — admitting he had killed Sudama the same day the boy went missing.

Uike told police he had been childless for nearly ten years. He was convinced that Sudama's mother was performing witchcraft on his family, and that this was the reason he had no children. Acting on this superstition, he targeted the boy.

The manner of the killing was brutal. According to police, Uike first struck Sudama on the head with an iron rod, causing serious injuries, then strangled him to death. He then stuffed the body into a sack and dumped it in a deep ravine in the Hathaikheda area, hoping it would never be found.

On Uike's directions, the police team recovered the sack-wrapped body from the ravine late Monday night around 11 pm. The body has been sent for post-mortem. The accused has been formally arrested and booked for murder along with other relevant charges. Investigation is ongoing.

Witch-hunting and superstition-linked violence continue to claim lives across central India, particularly in rural and tribal pockets of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Families accused of practising black magic — often on little more than personal grudges or community rumour — frequently face violence, social ostracism, or worse. Cases involving minors being targeted as proxies are especially disturbing and have drawn demands from rights groups for stricter enforcement of anti-superstition laws.

Sudama's family was in shock, with relatives inconsolable through the night. They have demanded strict action against the accused.