Nayagarh: Notwothstanding several awareness campaigns, superstition continues to prevail in the rural areas of Odisha.
In one such instance, a sorcerer with the help of villagers reportedly performed witchcraft to resurrect a dead man at Singarapur village near Saranakula in Nayagarh district.
According to sources, a man, identified as Rabi Nahak, had performed in a Danda Nacha (a traditional form of dance) two days ago. He fell ill suddenly and taken to District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). But the doctors declared him brought dead. His postmortem revealed that he died due to sun stroke.
His body was handed over to his family members.
But, Danduas (performers of Danda Nacha), came forward to resurrect the dead man by performing a puja. Then a sorcerer came and performed witchcraft for four hours to resurrect the dead man. The villagers also thought that as Rabi was a Dandua, he could be brought back to life.
Notably, they had been conducting the puja and pouring water on the dead body since Saturday night.
On being informed, police reached the spot and convinced the villagers that Rabi cannot be revived. Following this, the last rites of the dead man were conducted on Sunday midnight.