PONDA, March 7 -- Team Herald

The murder of a four-year-old girl in Usgao was not linked to black magic rituals, as initially suspected, but was the result of a heated argument between the victim's mother and the accused, South Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Tikam Singh Verma confirmed on Friday.

Meanwhile the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court has remanded Babasaheb Alhat (52) and Pooja Alhat (38), residents of Usgao and originally from Gokak, Karnataka, to six days in police custody in connection with the brutal murder. Police retrieved the child's body from the backyard of the accused couple's house, where it had been buried.

Tension gripped Usgao on Thursday night when police recovered the remains of the child. Enraged...