India, April 2 -- A chilling case of alleged human sacrifice has emerged from Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, where a 13-year-old girl was killed in a ritualistic act, with her mother among three people arrested, police said.

The accused include the girl's 35-year-old mother Reshmi Devi, 55-year-old occult practitioner Shanti Devi, and 40-year-old Bhim Ram, all residents of Kusumbha village. The arrests were announced by Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan and DIG Anjani Jha during a late-night press briefing on Wednesday.

According to police, the victim's mother had been consulting a local tantrik for treatment of her younger son, who reportedly suffers from mental and physical ailments. Investigators said the occult prac...