3-Month-Old Baby Dies After Being Branded 20 Times With Hot Iron To Cure Illness

A 3-month-old baby died Saturday in India after she was branded 20 times with a hot iron by a local healer to cure her ailments.

The incident took place in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The child was reportedly suffering from acute pneumonia, due to which she was taken to the healer by her parents. It is believed the woman healer used what she called "traditional methods" to cure the illness.

Following the incident, the child was admitted to a government medical college Wednesday, and was later moved to a private medical facility for advanced treatment, where she died Saturday night, the police said, media outlet Mid-Day reported.

"We have been receiving complaints from MP that a child was branded with a hot iron rod in the name of treatment. The Commission has zero-tolerance for such practices and takes strict action against them. We are issuing a notice (to the local administration) and will ensure that strict action is taken against the guilty," the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson, Priyank Kanoongo said.

The latest incident is the second such case in the state's Shahdol district. The body of a two-and-a-half-month-old girl was exhumed Friday, after initial police investigation showed the child had been cremated after she died due to a similar incident where a faith healer branded her. It was later revealed that the child was branded over 50 times with a hot iron, APN Live reported. However, it wasn't clear when the child died.

In this case, the suspect has been taken into custody and the investigation was ongoing.

The police are conducting autopsies in both cases.

Local authorities also said they were trying to create awareness against the superstitious tradition of getting children branded with a hot iron to cure ailments.

In a similar case, a 9-month-old baby died in August in the eastern state of Odisha after a healer branded the child with a hot iron rod to cure his fever. According to local media reports, the child, identified only as Rupesh, was suffering from fever, cold and a cough for a few days. His family did not take him to a doctor, and instead decided to go for traditional healing practices to cure the child.