Naresh, accused of killing his son, does not appear to be mentally stable, police said

A man in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 10-year-old son at the altar of a Goddess because he did not want the boy to become a so-called ‘faith healer’ like him.

Naresh, 36, is a Bhuva, meaning a ‘faith healer’, in Vinchhiya village in Ahmedabad district. Bhuvas are ritualistic practitioners believed to channel deities. Rationalist organisations in Gujarat often tour villages to spread awareness about such practices used to exploit villagers.

Naresh’s wife Bharti Patel, who found him sleeping on a cot next to the body of their son on Sunday, has told police that Naresh killed the boy at a temple in the courtyard of his home. “He told me that he held our son Karan by the feet and slammed him against the altar of the Mother Goddess thrice.…