Kanpur I have been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a woman on the pretext of exorcism. The body of the woman was found 25 years ago in the forest of Kalyanpur area. A fine of Rs 10,000 has also been imposed. Another accused died during the trial. Special Judge SCST Act Santosh Kumar Tiwari sentenced Kannauj resident Ram Prakash alias Baba guilty on the basis of evidence and testimony.
On March 23, 1998, a decomposed body of a woman was found in the Kalyanpur forest. The dead body was identified as Shyamadevi, wife of Jhavni, resident of Ashok Nagar, Kalyanpur. According to ADGC Gourendra Tripathi and Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Pachauri, Jhavni had filed a report against Kannauj resident Ramprakash alias Baba and Vidhanu resident Mahesh Chandra alias Banta. It is alleged that wife Shyamadevi used to get dizzy for a long time.
After seeing many doctors, his disease was not getting cured. Ramprakash alias Baba, who lives in Jhavni’s house, advised to get exorcised. On the night of March 10, 1998, he had taken Shyamadevi to Mahesh Chandra alias Banta, a resident of Vidhanu, for exorcism. Shyamadevi’s body was found 13 days later. Police had arrested both of them by filing a report against Ram Prakash alias Baba and Mahesh. Seven witnesses were produced by the prosecution.