Elderly man branded with hot iron to cure illness in Gajapati

Despite awareness, superstitious activities continue to prevail in some parts of Odisha.

In the latest instance, an elderly man became critical after he was allegedly branded with a hot iron as part of treatment by his family members. The incident occurred at Guluba village under Mohana block in Gajapati district on Tuesday.

The victim has been identified as Junasa Kandha.

As per reports, Junasa was suffering from tuberculosis. The family members tried their best to cure him with different kinds of herbal treatments and various superstitious activities. However, no improvement was seen in his health condition, and the family members admitted him to Berhampur Hospital.

After conducting different kinds of tests, the doctors came to know that the patient was suffering from tuberculosis. However, when Junasa didn’t recover after taking medicines, the family members branded him with a hot iron to cure the illness.

“When the condition of the old man didn’t improve after taking medicines, the family members branded him with a hot iron as per their traditional way of treatment,” said a relative of the victim.

However, the patient became critical following the incident. The family members of the victim admitted him to Mohana Community Health Centre following the intervention of the local Sarpanch. He was later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur as his condition deteriorated.

“We had helped the patient at our level as far as possible. Then we recommended him to MKCG Hospital. Unfortunately, the family members of the patient resorted to superstitious activities for which his condition deteriorated further,” said Mohana Community Health Centre Medical Officer Jay Panda.