Body of child retrieved from stream near Pokuase

The Pokuase District Police has retrieved the body of an unidentified child suspected to have been a victim of ritual murder from a stream close to Mayera which is near Pokuase in the Greater Accra Region.

The body was found floating in the stream by some residents who then called the police.

When the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, was contacted, she said in their response to calls from residents, the police went to the stream and found the body which was in a decomposed state.

She said although the sex of the body could not be ascertained, it is believed to be that of a child of about seven or eight years.

In addition, she said the police could not tell if the body floated from elsewhere to the point where it was found.

Ritual items

Nonetheless, she said, the police found some strange concoctions, a Schnapps bottle and an earthenware pot on the banks of the stream, heightening suspicion that the deceased might have been a victim of ritual murder.

Residents of the area who thronged the scene could not identify the body and were also unaware of any missing child in the community in recent times.
With the support of personnel from the Health, Environmental and Sanitation Unit of the Ga North Municipal

Assembly, the body was recovered from the stream and sent to the Police Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

Mrs Tenge said the police had commenced investigation into the incident.