A three-month-old girl succumbed to injuries in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district after falling victim to superstition and was branded with hot iron rods 51 times to cure pneumonia, reports said on Friday.
In Singhpur Kathoutia village in the district, the infant was stabbed 51 times in the stomach with hot rods as she was suffering from difficulty breathing due to pneumonia. After her health worsened, she was shifted to Shahdol Medical College, where she died during the treatment.
According to the information, Ruchita Kol was suffering from health issues since birth. After she was infected with pneumonia and her heartbeat began beating fast, the family took the infant to a “tantrik”, where she was branded with iron rods.
However, the infant’s condition soon worsened and she was taken to the hospital after relatives voiced concerns over her health.
Meanwhile, officials told NDTV the incident took place 15 days ago and the child was taken to the hospital after a local Anganwadi worker counselled her mother.
The infant’s body, which was buried, will be taken out for postmortem and will be conducted on Saturday, Shahdol Collector Vandana Vaidh was quoted as saying.
The administrative officers of the district have begun investigating the matter.
Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress president Dr Vikrant Bhuria said the practice of branding children with iron rods is practised in tribal-dominated areas of the state. “Being poked with bars can lead to death, it’s a way to subside the pain, but the problem is that the infection can supersede which can result in death,” he stated.
Responding to the issue, BJP spokesperson Dr Hitesh Vajpayee said such practices are still prevalent and requested Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to look into the matter and ensure strict punishment.
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