A newborn child was branded with red hot iron and seriously injured by his superstitious parents and family members in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district.
This incident had occurred at Motigaon village of Gambhariguda panchayat under Chandahandi block of Nabarangpur district. The six-day-old baby boy is now admitted to the Umerkote Community Health Centre (CHC) with 13 burn injuries on his body. Jadu Bisi, father of this ill-fated newborn, was allegedly involved harming the infant.
Sources said Mr. Bisi’s wife gave birth to the boy on May 28. On May 31, the newborn cried incessantly. Worried that the baby was ailing from some grave illness, the superstitious family decided to experiment with a “traditional superstitious treatment process” and branded the child instead of taking him to the nearest medical centre.
In severe pain, when the baby cried more and the wounds did not heal, Mr. Bisi finally brought the injured infant to the Umerkote CHC on Tuesday, where the newborn was admitted to the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital.
Mr. Bisi repented before mediapersons saying his ignorance and superstitious belief had put the life of his newborn son in danger.
