KHAWAR KALAN, Pakistan – Police in central Pakistan arrested a man Monday suspected of cannibalism after finding body parts including a skull that may have belonged to a child in his house, officials said.
Neighbors in the village of Khawar Kalan complained to police about a foul smell coming from the house, prompting them to raid it, said Ameer Abdullah, the police chief of Bhakkar district.
Authorities believe the man and his brother dug up the bodies from a nearby graveyard where residents had also seen one of the men lurking, said another officer, Zafar Iqbal.
He said they found what appeared to be a child's skull as well as other body parts at the house and were sending the skull for further tests. Authorities are looking for the brother.
Iqbal said the men had been released from prison about a year ago after being convicted of dehumanizing a body, in a sensational case that gained widespread attention across Pakistan at the time.
Under Pakistani law cannibalism is not a crime so the charge of dehumanizing a body referred to the way they dug it up and then chopped it, said Abdullah. He said at the time police had discovered several human body parts cooked at the two brothers' house, which they had dug up in a graveyard. The brothers were sentenced to two years in prison, he said.
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