Month-old-baby branded with hot iron rod for 40 times to cure disease

A one-month-old baby boy was branded with a hot iron rod about 40 times to cure a disease in Odisha's Nabarangpur district following which he was admitted to a government hospital

Bhubaneswar: A one-month-old baby boy was branded with a hot iron rod about 40 times to cure a disease in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district following which he was admitted to a government hospital, officials said on Monday.

The child is a resident of Phundelpada village under Gambhariguda panchayat in the Chandahandi block of the district. He was admitted to the Umerkote Sub-Divisional Hospital for treatment.

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Nabarangpur Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr Santosh Kumar Panda visited the hospital and said the infant’s health condition is now stable.

“There are about 30 to 40 branding spots on the belly and head of the child. There is a superstition that if a child is branded with hot metal, then the child would be cured of diseases,” he said.

The doctor said that the child was down with a fever, running a high temperature ten days ago and was crying a lot.

The family members believed that the child was under the influence of some evil spirit. Instead of seeking medical help, the family branded him 30-40 times with hot metal, in the belief that it would cure him, the CDMO said.

When the child fell seriously ill after the branding, he was admitted to the Umerkote Hospital. Such practices have been going on in remote areas for a long time, the CDMO said.

He also said that the health department has decided to focus on Chandahandi block and create awareness among the people to bring children to hospitals for treatment instead of branding them with hot metal.