Post News Network
Malkangiri, Dec 26: In yet another incident of superstition in south Orissa, a pregnant woman in the district was found to have been branded with a hot iron rod apparently in a bid to cure her of abdominal pain.
The victim was identified as Manguli Madra (32) of Mudulipada village under Khairaput block. She was admitted to the district headquarters hospital here in a critical condition Saturday.
Dr Surama Behera, who is treating the woman, said the condition of the woman was stable.
Madra was two months pregnant when she developed severe pain in her abdomen. On being advised by neighbours, her family members took the woman to a local quack, who branded her stomach with a hot iron rod December 21.
Despite her pain shooting up after the branding, her family members did not take her to a hospital as advised by the quack who assured the family that the woman’s pain would subside in a few days. However, her pain increased and her stomach got infected. Finding no other option, her husband Sama Madri admitted the woman to the district headquarters hospital here Saturday.
In a recent incident, a couple of Butipadar village in Nabarangpur district had branded their 14-day-old baby with a hot iron rod on several parts of his body to check the swelling in the baby’s stomach. The matter came to light when the couple brought the baby to the district headquarters hospital for treatment Wednesday. The baby later developed pneumonia.
