Quacks force 2-day old baby to walk

Morigaon police b witch doctor and accomplice after shocking video goes viral

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, May 20: A witch doctor and her accomplice have been arrested by Morigaon police after they forced a two-day-old baby to walk grabbing it by its neck.

A police official said a couple of Basugaon village in Mayong had taken their baby to the witch doctors seeking cure for fever which the baby was suffering.

The baby was grabbed by its neck and made to walk by an alleged witch doctor.

“The witch doctor told the baby’s parents that it was a cure for the fever,” an officer at Mayong police station said.

The newborn baby reportedly had high fever since his birth.

The ‘treatment’ was captured in a video, filmed by one of the villagers while other villagers kept watching. The disturbing video clip, was also sent to TV channels which aired it, sparking outrage in the State.

The Morigaon administration rushed police to the place and maged to rescue the baby from the harsh ‘treatment’.

The quack doctor, in her fifties, along with her accomplice was arrested and the baby is now recovering in a hospital.

Police said the baby is now out of danger and recovering.

Two women, including the quack, have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

 Such dubious “healers” influence people easily in large parts of rural Assam, where there is a lack of awareness about health and hygiene.