Odisha family forcibly takes minor girl’s body from morgue to resurrect her

Rourkela: The body of a minor girl was forcibly brought home by her family members by breaking open the main door lock of a local hospital’s morgue where it was kept following her sad demise due to a snakebite yesterday at Sonaparbat locality in Rourkela under Raghunathpali police limits in Sundargarh district.

Surprisingly, the five-year-old was brought home to perform sorcery on her to bring her back to life.

According to a source, the minor was playing near her house when a venomous serpent bit her leaving her dead. She was brought ‘dead’ to Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH). Her body was later shifted to the morgue for post-mortem. Her untimely death was not accepted by the deceased’s family, and after the fall of night, her mother and uncle (father’s younger brother) together reached the health facility. The duo manhandled an on-duty security guard and took away the girl’s body, the source added.

On being informed by the RGH authorities, Raghunathpali police reached the spot and initiated a probe into the incident. The minor girl’s body has not been traced yet, a senior official of the PS stated.

“Arrangements were being made to perform sorcery and the girl’s presence was needed. However, as I was mentally very upset over my daughter’s sudden demise and was not allowed the see her once in the hospital, I brought her home,” the deceased girl’s mother Radha Singh expressed when contacted.

“A minor girl was ‘received dead’ last evening and was kept in the hospital mortuary. Her mother and a few others came to the mortuary and forcibly took away her body. However, an on-duty security guard overpowered one of them identified as the minor’s relative, and handed him over to police. Following which, police launched a probe,” a doctor of the hospital said giving his views to Sambad English.

“I understand the emotion of a bereaved mother, but the minor should have been immediately brought to the hospital for treatment. I don’t know why they delayed in bringing her,” the doctor further said.