Tribal kid suffers burns in witch doctor's cure, father held

The shocking incident took place in Maharashtra's Amravati where a toddler suffered burn injuries after being branded 100 times with the hot tip of a sickle on the orders of a witch doctor.

Amravati: Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde on Friday condemned an incident in Amravati where a toddler suffered burn injuries after being branded 100 times with the hot tip of a sickle on the orders of a witch doctor.

The incident took place in Melghat region, some 690 kilometres from Mumbai, said Amravati (Rural) Superintendent of Police Hari Balaji.

"The child was taken by his father to a place where black magic is used to cure kids, the process being branding with a sickle. The child was suffering from stomach bloating.

We got a tip-off on Wednesday and nabbed the father of the child and the 55-year-old woman conducting the black magic cure," Balaji said.

They have been arrested under the Black Magic Act, the SP said.

In his tweet, Munde said, "I condemn the inhuman act of the mother-father giving 100 burn marks on the stomach of their child using sickle after being told to do so by a mantrik out of superstition in tribal Borda village in Amravati's Chikhaldara."

PTI