Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): A shocking case was reported Gwalior, where a 14-year-old girl died allegedly due to superstitious tantric rituals.
The victim named Raunak Pal was a student of Class 8. She was reportedly put through ‘inhumane treatment’ in the form of exorcism on pretext of healing. Police intervened before the last rites and took the body into custody for investigation.
According to police, the incident occurred in Khallasipura area of Gwalior on Monday. Raunak had been suffering from fever for the last 15 days.
Her father, Sunil Pal, told the police that they had consulted a doctor, but as her condition did not improve, a tantric was called on the advice of a relative. The tantric allegedly claimed that Raunak was possessed by an evil spirit.
According to the reports, the rituals took a brutal turn when the tantric burnt her stomach with a hot rod and beat her with a stick and broom in an attempt to force out the ‘evil spirit’ from her body.
The girl was unable to bear the torture and died at home. An anonymous caller informed the police about the suspicious death, following which officers from Inderganj police station reached the spot and stopped the last rites.
Station in charge Deepti Singh Tomar confirmed that the girl died under suspicious circumstances. The body had the signs of burn injuries and physical assault.
A postmortem has been conducted, and further action will depend on the medical report.
