Tension gripped Deoband area of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh when two children were found dead under suspicious circumstances, police reported on Friday.
The family members of the children suspect that they were killed as part of a Tantric ritual, police added.
Dev (11) and his 9-year-old cousin Mahi had gone to a temple outside their village in Bhayal on Thursday, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sagar Jain said.
"When they did not return by late night, the family began a search. Around midnight, the children's bodies were found on the roadside, prompting villagers to notify the police," Jain said.
The police, who arrived at the scene with a forensic team, noted that both the bodies showed signs of broken bones, indicating possibility of a road accident.
Their remains have been sent for a postmortem, Jain said.
However, the incident has stirred anger among the villagers, who blocked the Deoband-Nanota road, alleging that the cousins were killed as part of a Tantric ritual.
Local authorities assured the villagers of a thorough investigation into the incident.
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