8-day-old branded with hot iron ring by family

Bargarh: In yet another instance of the inhuman practice of iron branding prevalent in interior Odisha, an eight-day-old was branded with a hot iron ring near the naval area to cure him of swelling in the stomach at Badipalli village under Sohela block of the district a few days back.

The matter came to the fore after the family members of the child admitted the baby at the District Headquarters Hospital on Friday.

Dr KC Mahakud, Pediatrician at the hospital, said, “He was admitted here earlier for jaundice. After treatment, we had sent the baby back home. However, family members of the baby branded him with iron after seeing the vein on his stomach. The baby was branded 14 times with a hot iron ring near the naval area. When the baby became critical, the family members admitted him to the hospital.”

“Last month three child branding cases were registered in the hospital. We urge the public to stop this practice,” the doctor added.

Aarti Barik, mother of the branded child, said; “After we saw the body of the baby becoming yellowish, we admitted him to the hospital. When the doctor sent us back and the same condition persisted, we branded the baby with hot iron ring,” adding the condition of the child is stable now.

Notably, the practice of iron branding to cure ailments is rampant in remote areas of the district despite the fact that many of these cases have ended up in death of the child.