A one-and-a-half-month-old boy died after allegedly being branded with a hot iron rod as part of a ritual to cure him of a lung condition in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district, an official said on Saturday.
Civil surgeon G S Parihar stated that the baby passed away on Friday while receiving care in the district hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
He added that the baby boy in Bandhwa village had suffered serious injuries after being branded with a hot iron rod to treat his respiratory issues.
The official mentioned the baby died of pneumonia and that he was taken to the district hospital on December 21 when his health worsened.
In a similar incident in Madhya Pradesh, a one-and-a-half-month-old boy suffered from pneumonia and was branded with a hot iron rod more than 40 times by a “dai” (traditional birth attendant) as a “treatment” for the illness at a village.
When the child’s condition deteriorated earlier this month, he was taken to a hospital where the matter came to light. More than 40 scars were found on the child’s neck, stomach and other body parts, police said.
The boy was treated at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Shahdol and his condition is fine. A probe was ordered into the matter, officials said.
Police had registered a case against the dai, identified as Booti Bai Baiga, the baby’s mother Betlwati Baiga and grandfather Rajani Baiga under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, a senior police officer said.
“The family of the infant boy got the hot iron treatment done at their home from a ‘dai’,” said Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr RS Pandey.
When the baby’s condition deteriorated, he was taken to the district hospital, from where he was referred to the medical college for treatment, he said.
(with PTI inputs)
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