Couple suspects kin of practising black magic, kills their son

A married couple allegedly killed asix-year-old boy on suspicion that ''black magic'' performed byhis family led to the death of their buffalo in a village inBeed district of Maharashtra, police said on Friday.

The gruesome incident took place on Wednesday inRatnagiri village and the accused, Rohidas Sapkal and his wifeDevyeebai, were arrested on Thursday, they said.

The accused are related to the boy, who went missingon Wednesday morning while playing with his friends near aschool on the village outskirts, the police said.

Later, he was found lying near the school and wasrushed to a nearby hospital by local residents, but wasdeclared dead by doctors, the police said.

The police started a probe after the boy's familyalleged foul play in his death.

Assistant Police Inspector (API) Laxman Kendre saidthe couple owned a buffalo which died recently.

The husband-wife duo suspected the boy's family ofpractising black magic and blamed them for the death of theirbuffalo, he said.

The accused and the boy's parents are relatives, hesaid.

To take revenge from the family, the couple picked upthe boy and took him home, where they strangled him to deathand threw the body near the school, Kendre said.