Five children poisoned to death in a village in India may have been sacrificed

Police say that the children were killed in Maharashtra state by a childless couple in a suspected black magic ritual to enable them to conceive. The couple and parents of the accused husband have been arrested. Black magic is sometimes carried out in poorer parts of India by people who believe it will provide benefits. These can include helping childless women to bear children and producing more rainfall. Police say they are looking for the tantrik, or witch doctor, who advised the couple to sacrifice eleven children in accordance with black magic rituals. All the children were aged between two and four and were related to each other.