Bhawanipatna: There was no letup in the branding of minor kids in the country with hot irons due to superstitious beliefs. Two infants were critically injured in a branding incident in a Chhatishgarh village bordering Kalahandi district, a report said Friday.
The matter came out after the two infants from Chhattisgarh were admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Bhawanipatna Wednesday.
They were identified as the twin sons of Swadi Pari and Sundar Pari of Karachia village in Chhattisgarh. The doctors at the Bhawanipatna hospital said the condition of the infants was critical as they have developed septicemia.
The doctors advised the couple to shift them to the VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla for advanced treatment. However, the infants are still in the hospital with the couple failing to shift them to Burla due to lack of money.
Sources said the birth of the twins a month back brought cheer to the family. However, the infants were not keeping well. This made the couple take the help of a sorcerer in their village.
The couple took them to the sorcerer and the latter branded the bellies of the infants with hot iron to cure them. The branding rendered the infants critical and the couple rushed them to Bhawanipatna district headquarters hospital.
The incident has once again brought into sharp focus how gullible tribals become easy prey to superstition, observers said. This is continuing despite the administration conducting awareness programmes.
The people living in remote regions of the country instead of consulting doctors take the help of sorcerers in case of illness. The southern districts like Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri and the tribal Mayurbhanj district are notorious for the branding of minor children.
PNN
