Bolepur (WB): The ghost of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, the rapist and murderer, refuses to be exorcised, claiming a 10-year-old boy's life today (Sep 3, 2004) in Bolepur in Birbhum district who wanted to play the grim business of going to the gallows.

Somnath Das, the youngest son of a daily wage earner, had watched with growing excitement events unfolding swiftly last month with hangman Nata Mullick pulling the lever to leave Dhananjoy dangling at the end of a noose at the Alipore jail in Kolkata.

Somnath made his first attempt this morning to be Dhananjoy when he clambered up a tree with a coil of rope, but scuttled down after being scolded by family members, his elder brother, Ghanashyam said.

But as he was home alone at Jubutia village in the afternoon, Somnath took another chance to be the hangman's victim and succeeded in snuffing out his life of ten summers.

His body was found hanging at his home, the police said.

The body of the class IV student, the youngest of five siblings, was sent for post mortem.

At least three other children, under the baleful influence of Dhananjoy Chatterjee's execution, have died earlier in West Bengal playing with the noose.