Moved by the age-old tradition of animal sacrifice during religious ceremonies, five children reportedly enacted the ritualistic killing of a baby dog in Bolangir district of Odisha sending shockwaves in the region.
The happening which is attributed to psychological impact of the animal sacrifice rites that took place at Pandarapita village, barely 10 km away from the district headquarters of Bolangir has triggered widespread concerns.
According to sources, the five children aged between five and eight years playfully performed a Bali (sacrifice) ritual recently. They took out a procession beating plastic drum and offered prayers before sacrificing the puppy to appease Gods.
Sources said, one of the kids enacted the role of priest and others donned different characters involved in the cultic show before sacrificing the animal.
Shockingly, the kids are believed to have consumed the blood of the puppy as a mark of tradition of sacrifice.
In Bolangir, the practice of religious slaughter is widely prevalent where uncountable animals are sacrificed during some of the most controversial tribal fests like Sulia Jatra, Patkhanda Jatra and Kandul Jatra. People from all ages including children congregate to witness the gore rituals.
It is believed that the minor boys might have witnessed the animal sacrifice and its lasting impact on their psychology drove them to enact the practice in their age of innocence.
The parents of the children were dumbstruck with apprehensions after learning about the incident and immediately rushed all the five to hospital for medical care.
The prescription advised by the treating physicians at Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital where the kids are undergoing treatment clearly mentioned that they have ‘ingestion of blood of dog’.
The children have been administered four doses of anti-Rabies injection which is generally inoculated in case of dog bites. While three doses have been completed, the fourth one will be administered on March 16. Their health condition is stated to be stable now.