An unidentified body exhumed near Narasimha temple in Nallamala forest, Kurnool on Saturday, is suspected to be a case of human sacrifice. 

On Thursday morning, the Sirivella police found an unidentified body which was partially buried 100 meters away from the temple, which is in a forest area. This space is usually occupied by locals who come to pray and host a lunch. Devotees who visited the temple noticed a foul smell in the area and while searching, they found the big toe of the body peeping out of the ground. 

Subsequently, the alarmed devotees alerted police. Police registered a case under 174 CrPc (unnatural death). 

On Saturday, police in the presence of Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) and other officials exhumed the body. While exhuming it they found that the head was chopped and lying separately. Police and locals suspect that the murder could have been committed by treasure hunters.  

Speaking to TNM, Sirivella Sub Inspector Thimma Reddy said, "We have exhumed and sent the body for autopsy. It looks like a murder which happened five days ago. The investigation is underway. The murder could be a human sacrifice, we are not ruling out that possibility."

Police have sent the body for autopsy to determine the weapon used in the crime and identify the age of the victim.

Hunting for treasure in this region is not new. Earlier, in 2017, the state government itself carried out a treasure hunt by taking up excavation at the historic Chennampalli Fort in Kurnool. 

However, the digging up stopped after intervention from the High Court. The authorities who took up the excavation claimed that some unidentified persons had excavated the fort, and the Department of Mines and Geology continued it briefly. However, they stopped the operations as they couldn’t find any precious stones or minerals.