Five people have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a child, which reports say was a suspected case of human sacrifice.
The body of the 10-year-old boy was found in a bush in the Nawalparasi village of Kudiya in southern Nepal on Friday.
Superintendent of Police, Nal Prasad Upadhyaya, told Reuters that five people have been arrested in connection with the case and will all be charged with murder.
The child had been reported missing three days before his body was found in a bush near a temple on the bank of the Patera river.
The Kathmandu Post reported that a man confessed to the murder saying that he sacrificed the boy "to chase away the evil spirits" from his son who is often ill after a shaman advised him to do so.
The man reportedly offered the boy, his neighbour's child who was alone while his family were in their field, a biscuit and the equivalent of 50 US cents to lure him away from his house.
He then allegedly restrained him with the help of others, performed a religious rite, and "slit his throat with a sickle" before disposing of the body.
The Nawalparasi district, where the alleged murder took place, borders India to the south.
A similar case in the Thane district of India was reported by IBNLive this week when four people were questioned about the suspected murder and human sacrifice of a 12-year-old boy.
The boy’s body was recovered from Khadavli river in the Kasara region on 20 July, wrapped in a plastic bag and tied to a bucket.
The female relatives allegedly strangled the child with a rope before dumping his body in the river.
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According to the boy's uncle, who had reported him missing, the three women were often seen performing rituals late at night.
Police suspect that the father and his wife sacrificed the child as a plea to improve their married life.
