Malkangiri: In an appalling incident, a pregnant woman of MV-6 village within Malkangiri police limits was branded with iron rod and forced to consume pig excreta, by a sorcerer to cure her of an illness.
The victim, Lipika Orao, wife of Santosh Orao had been sick for around a week following which her family members along with a few villagers took her to a sorcerer, popularly known as ‘disari’ on Sunday for treating her.
The sorcerer told Lipika’s family that she was possessed by evil spirits and thrashed her mercilessly. He then exposed Lipika to fire, branded her with hot iron rod and forced her to consume pig excreta to ward off the evil spirit from her body. Blinded by superstition, the victim’s family members did not raise voice against the bizarre rituals performed by disari.
Lipika’s health condition worsened on Monday as she had sustained severe burn injuries. After getting information on the incident, a local anganwadi worker along with an Asha and a health worker admitted her to the district headquarters hospital.The doctor at the hospital said Lipika sustained severe burn injuries and is also suffering from a mental disorder. She stressed the need for massive awareness against such practices.