‘They forced me to go without food for 3 days’

“Srinivas uncle and two others applied mehendi on my hands, applied vermilion on my forehead and performed pujas,” said Karthik who was reportedly kidnapped by the accused for sacrifice in search of a treasure trove.

Karthik said they took him to different temples and did some pujas. “They made me to observe fast for three days and said they would kill me,” he said.

“The trio said Nandi, the vahanam of Lord Siva, would tell me about some ‘nidhi’ (treasure trove) and asked me to convey the same to them. They asked me to take head bath and offer pujas,” Karthik told

The Hindu .