A 46-year-old man, recently released from jail in a case related to his wife’s murder, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing a 16-year-old boy and attempting to eat his flesh and drink his blood in Samanna village, Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, police said.
The accused, Gudda Patel, a resident of Samanna village, had earlier been convicted for slitting his wife’s throat and was released from jail in January, according to earlier reports.
The 16-year-old, a resident of Arthkheda village, had visited his sister in Samanna village. While returning home on his bike, Patel allegedly attacked him with an iron rod and then struck him with an iron hammer, killing the teenager on the spot, said City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Pandey.
Villagers claimed they saw Patel trying to eat flesh from the boy’s head and drink blood from his hands after they arrived at the scene. “When the villagers heard the screams, they rushed to the spot and found Patel eating flesh from the boy’s head and drinking blood from his hands,” the officer added.
Residents attempted to catch Patel, who threatened them with the hammer. “He had hidden in agricultural land near the village. The villagers chased him and started pelting stones at him, while he also retaliated with stones,” CSP Pandey said.
Police eventually reached the area, surrounded the field, and arrested Patel after about an hour. He was taken to the police station for further investigation.
