Khandwa: Superstitious father abandons corpse of own child, flees

Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): A man abandoned the body of his son near Ashapur-Betul national highway in Khandwa. The deceased has been identified as 12-year-old Harikrishna son of Hariram, a resident of Churat Kalan village, Harda.

Police investigation revealed that the child was suffering from severe diarrhoea and vomiting. After which, his father admitted him to the district hospital of Khandwa on August 16. The next day, Hariram forcibly took the discharge of his son and took a bus which was heading towards Roshani village.

According to SDOP Ravindra Vaskle, the corpse was found between Patajan and Langoti village in the afternoon of August 17. SP Vivek Singh stated that, during investigation, the boy was wearing a diaper and his pants were found ten feet away.

In a sickening example of superstition, it seems that he was also treated by branding with a hot iron rod on his back and waist as deep burn wounds were clearly visible. It is assumed that the superstitious father felt that if the body was taken home, the disease would spread to the whole family. Hariram has been on the run since the incidents.

It is common to treat vomiting, diarrhoea or malnutrition by branding a person with a hot rod in the tribal areas of Khalwa, Jhirnya and Harda districts of Nimar as part of superstition.