BERHAMPUR: The body of a two-year-old boy was finally cremated in a Ganjam village on Friday, three days after his death, when a witch doctor expressed his inability to resurrect him. Since Tuesday, the witch doctor was attempting to bring the dead child to life and thousands of villagers were witnessing the superstitious practice. The incident took place in Sundarpur village under Chhatrapur block of the district. The boy, Sainanda, son of Sachidananda Sahu of the village, suffered from fever and was undergoing treatment at Chhatrapur Hospital. He was subsequently shifted to SCB Medical in Cuttack where Sainanda succumbed on Tuesday. After obtaining a death certificate, Sahu brought the body back to his village.
While the body was being taken to the cremation ground, one of the villagers reportedly saw some movement in the child and urged his father to contact a witch doctor who could perform a resurrection ritual. Subsequently, a witch doctor was roped in by Sahu and other villagers. He told them that the boy can be brought back to life if certain rituals are performed for five days.
As per the witch doctor’s suggestion, the body was kept on a tree on the outskirts of the village and puja was performed round-the-clock. As the news spread, people from nearby villages gathered at the spot in large number hoping to witness a miracle. Surprisingly, the local administration and police were aware of the incident but took no step to desist the villagers from the superstitious practice.
When the corpse started decomposing, the witch doctor stopped the rituals on Friday and asked villagers to cremate the mortal remains.