Rourkela: A woman fled with the body of her daughter, who had died of snakebite, from the mortuary of Rourkela Government Hospital in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Sunday.
According to sources, the five-year-old girl was bitten by a venomous snake while playing near her house at Sonaparbat locality in Rourkela under Raghunathpali police limits. She was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital and the body was later kept in the morgue for postmortem.
Believing that her child can be brought back to life after performing puja and black magic, the woman and her family members broke open the lock of the mortuary and fled with the body. One among her relative was overpowered by the security guard and handed over to police.
“The bereaved mother was not able to accept the death of her daughter. Though we understand her pain, it is against the law. The police have been informed about the incident,” hospital in-charge Ganesh Prasad Das told the media.
Till filling of the report, the local cops were trying to convince the mother to give back the body for postmortem.
“My daughter’s presence was needed as arrangements were being made to perform sorcery. Since I was not allowed the see her once in the hospital, I brought her home,” said Radha Singh, mother of the deceased.
