COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan police said on Monday that they had arrested two people in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl who was beaten repeatedly during a ritual they believed would ward off an evil spirit.
The two suspects – the woman who performs the exorcism and the girl’s mother – appeared in court on Monday to hear charges over the girl’s death, which took place over the weekend in Delgoda, a small town about 25 miles away northeast of the capital, Colombo. The court ordered the suspects to be detained until March 12.
According to police spokesman Ajith Rohana, the mother believed that her daughter was possessed by a demon and took her to the exorcist’s home so that a ritual could be performed to ward off the spirit.
Rohana said the exorcist first put oil on the girl and then started repeatedly hitting her with a cane. When the girl lost consciousness, she was taken to a hospital, where she died. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.
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The woman who performed the ritual on the girl was known in the region for offering these services in recent months and the police were investigating whether anyone had been abused, Rohana said.
Rohana urged the public to be careful with these services, as the girl was not the first to die during the ritual.