VIJAYAWADA: In a tragic incident on Friday, a 32-year-old man, died of suffocation when a baba covered the victim’s head with cloth and kept pouring water on his face for a few minutes to ‘exorcise’ him.
The method bore a disturbing resemblance to waterboarding. The incident happened at Tummalavaripalem of Avanigadda mandal in Krishna district.
According to police, the deceased, Mungara Seetharamanjaneyulu, was mentally unstable. His family took him to Shaik Hussain, who claimed to have powers to ward off evil spirits, hoping that he would be cured. Seetharamanjaneyulu’s family lodged a complaint with the police after his death, following which Hussain was taken into custody.