A day after recovery of a woman’s mutilated body near Bon Durga temple, adjacent to Kamakhya temple atop Nilachal hills in Guwahati, priests and managing authorities of the temple were on June 20 skeptical of it being an incident of human sacrifice as they pointed that no female form is offered as sacrifice in this shaktipeeth of Goddess Kamakhya, which is also a seat of Tantric cult.
Temple authorities told the media that sacrifice of the female form is not practiced in the temple since it is dedicated to a mother goddess. “This (Kamakhya temple) is a seat of Tantric cult and as such, sacrifice is practiced here. Everyday sacrifices are offered to the Mother Goddess, but whatever is sacrificed, it is of the male gender of that species,” the authorities said.
Explaining this tradition, they said since the temple is dedicated to a female goddess, there has been no practice of offering a female animal as sacrifice. “Hence, the idea of a woman being offered as a sacrifice does not hold ground with the tantric cult followed in our temple,” they claimed.
Commenting on the recovery on June 19, the authorities alleged that it was a ploy to malign the image of the Kamakhya temple ahead of the annual Ambubachi Mela, which gets underway on June 22.
“We have been successfully holding and improving the mela for the four-five years. And there is a section that wants to disrupt it. We hope the police will get to the root of this conspiracy and the culprits are arrested,” they said.
The authorities, however, refused to name any person or organization that could be behind the alleged conspiracy.
Meanwhile, police have launched investigation to nab the culprits and get to the root of the incident. Top police officials, including city police commissioner Deepak Kumar, have already visited the crime scene.
The mutilated body of an unidentified woman was recovered on the steps of Bon Durga temple, adjacent to main Kamakhya temple, on June 19 evening. Commodities used for worship rituals were also found near the body, leading police to suspect the possibility of the woman being a victim of human sacrifice.
The incident comes amid tight security in the area ahead of the four-day Ambubachi Mela, during which worship is stopped as the Goddess is believed to undergo her annual menstrual cycle.
Over 20 lakh devotes and visitors are expected to visit the temple premise during the annual mela, which ends with the opening of the temple doors on June 25.
