A dead tigress with mutilated remains was found in Madhya Pradesh, and five suspects were arrested, two of whom confessed they were seeking a charm to control their wives.

BHOPAL: A dead tigress is found in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, the carcass completely mutilated with claws chopped off and canines cut out. Even though it becomes clear that the big cat had died of natural causes, the state of its remains leaves forest and police officials totally bewildered.Five suspects are eventually arrested, but their interrogation makes the case take an even more bizarre turn: two of the accused confess that all they were looking for was a charm to control their wives.Raj Kumar and Jhaam Singh said they had only followed the advice of a sorcerer who had told them that tiger claws held the secret to ‘dominance’ in marital life.After the carcass was found on April 26 in a buffer zone of Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni district, a special investigation team needed a tip-off from a local to nab the suspects. The tigress’s claws, three teeth and hide were recovered from multiple locations.

Kumar said he was told that if he performed certain rituals with the claws of the big cat, he would gain the power to “subdue his wife”. He complained that she was “disobedient”.Officials said Kumar and Singh were out fishing in the buffer zone along with some other locals when they spotted the tigress’s carcass. They tried to get near it but retreated when they saw another big cat sitting close by.However, the duo returned the next day and hacked off the claws and canines. But they weren’t done yet. When the sorcerer told them they needed the hide as well to complete their ritual,they went back again and cut out a piece of the skin.Forest officials said belief in occult practices is nothing new in this region. They mentioned cases where tigers and leopards were poached by locals for ‘black magic’ rituals. But even they admitted that ‘wife control’ was a rather surprising twist to a troubling trend.“It’s shocking and shows how deeply ingrained superstitions can push people to commit extreme acts,” said a senior forest official. “What a wild way to solve relationship problems. Many of us might be dealing with marital issues, but that doesn’t mean we go around severing claws of dead tigresses. It’s just ridiculous,” said an investigating officer.The suspects were produced in court on May 3 and placed in forest department custody for questioning. Investigators are trying to ascertain if other men were also involved in the bizarre practice and are also trying to track down the black magic practitioner.