Child dies after being branded with hot iron in Nuapada

Nuapada: Hot iron branding, a practice to cure illness among children in tribal-dominated districts of the state, has cost another life.

The death was reported from Karachula village under Dharambandha in Nuapada district on Sunday and the victim was identified as the two-and-half-year-old son of Laxmichandra Shabara. He succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the Nuapada hospital.

According to reports, the boy was suffering from fever for the last few days. Family members then took him to a quack, who branded his stomach 10 times with hot iron as a cure to his illness. However, the child’s condition deteriorated and he was admitted the Nuapada Hospital, where he died.