India: girl, 7, was murdered and her liver was cut out in sacrifice to the gods for a better harvest

Lalita Tati, a seven-year-old girl from India was murdered and had her liver cut in a ritual sacrifice to ensure a better harvest.

Police said that two men, both poor farmers, have now been arrested in central India for allegedly carrying out the murder of the girl.

Lalita Tati disappeared in October and her dismembered remains were found a week later, said Rajendra Narayan Das, a senior police officer in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state.

The state is the tenth largest in the country and beliefs in traditional healers run deep.

Police arrested the men last week and they told officers they killed Lalita Tati to appease their gods and get a better harvest.

Lalita Tati was walking home after watching TV at a neighbor’s house when she was kidnapped, Rajendra Narayan Das said.

The two men confessed to cutting the girl open and removing her liver as an offering.

Rajendra Narayan Das said the police had gathered enough evidence, apart from the confessions, to charge the two with murder.

The two men would face life in prison or even the death sentence if convicted.

They were described as “tribals”, a term referring to the region’s indigenous people, most of whom remain mired in poverty and illiteracy.