A 14-year old girl was killed during a ritual, by a couple who were said to be possessed in the Kadirapura area, in Dehiattakandiya in the early hours of today, police said.

According to the police media unit two other girls, aged 19 and seven years, were beaten up and burnt during the same ritual. The possessed woman is said to have inserted a knife into the girl’s throat which killed her.

The couple has been arrested, while the injured girls have been admitted to the Polonnaruwa hospital. The police media spokesman said that the couple had lit a fire and the two girls were burnt in the fire that was set up within the premises where the ritual was being held.   

The couple that had performed this ritual are husband and wife aged 35 and 32 years respectively. They have been arrested following the incident.