BENGALURU: A youngster killed a cobbler following an astrologer’s suggestion to perform human sacrifice to unearth treasure. The incident took place in Chitradurga district on the Karnataka-Andhra border. Prabhakar (52) was tragically murdered by the teen. The police arrested the accused Anand Reddy and astrologer Ramakrishna within 24 hours of the murder. Anand Reddy was working as a cook in a hotel in Pavagada.

Anand first consulted with astrologer Ramakrishnan to seek help to come out of his financial struggles. Ramakrishna suggested the young man offer human blood to Marama Devi to make his dream turn into reality.

The astrologer made the youngster believe that the western parts of Parasurampur hold treasure. The astrologer also suggested human sacrifice to end all of the financial struggles and bring prosperity to life. Then Anand reached Parasurampur and decided to kill Prabhakar, a cobbler at the Challakere bus stop.

Anand approached Prabhakar who was returning home after work and offered a ride home on his bike. After some distance, he stopped the bike in a deserted area saying that the vehicle ran out of petrol. Prabhakar was then stabbed to death.