The body of a 6-year-old girl was found after she was allegedly sacrificed by her father in India as part of a sorcery ritual.

The father, identified as Banguru Pangi, filed a police complaint on Nov. 24 stating his daughter has been missing since Nov. 21.

As part of the investigation, the officers interrogated Pangi and found his statements suspicious. He finally confessed to the crime.

The accused told the investigators his daughter died after he violently slapped her in a fit of rage as she was neglecting her studies. He then placed her body in a sack and buried it near a temple in the eastern state of Odisha to cover up the crime. The man stated he never intended to kill his daughter, Odisha TV reported.

Pangi then took the officers to the place where he buried the body. Police exhumed the corpse and sent it for an autopsy.

Meanwhile, the investigators spoke to the locals who claimed the man was lying. They said they believe the man sacrificed his daughter as part of a sorcery ritual in the hope to become rich and that his wife helped him commit the crime, Kalinga TV reported.

The accused and his accomplice, identified as Shyama Biswal, have since been taken into custody. Biswal’s role in the crime was not clear.

Police said they were awaiting the autopsy result to determine the exact cause of death.

The incident comes months after a man in Guyana sacrificed his daughter to become rich. Ganesh Ramdain choked his 11-year-old daughter in her room and suspended her from the roof with a rope to showcase it as suicide. He then rushed outside and started screaming for help. When the neighbors arrived, he pretended to rescue her by cutting the rope off.

He then took the girl to the hospital where she died two days later. During interrogation, the man confessed to sacrificing the girl with a hope to become rich. He was arrested and was ordered by the court to undergo psychological evaluation.

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Representational image of a handcuffed man. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images