Delhi boy with cancer dies after parents dip him in Ganga river for ‘cure’
The shocking incident took place on Wednesday afternoon at Har ki Pauri in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district.
In a shocking incident, a seven-year-old boy suffering from blood cancer died after he was allegedly dipped in the Ganga river by his parents in hopes to ‘cure’ him of the disease. The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon at Har ki Pauri in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district.
According to the police, the boy's parents, along with some other family members, brought him to the banks of the Ganga River after the doctors told them that their child would not win the battle against cancer.
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A disturbing video of the incident also went viral on social media in which a woman in a red saree, who according to reports is the boy's aunt, can be seen dipping the seven-year-old in the river multiple times for about five minutes. While the child kept screaming at first, the loud cries stopped shortly.
“The superstitious parents thought that if their son, ailing from blood cancer, would take a Gangasnan (dip in holy Ganga), he would be cured of the disease,” Haridwar superintendent of police Swatantra Kumar told news agency ANI.
After a few minutes, bystanders rushed the child to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.
Reportedly, the boy's parents and aunt have been detained by the police. Further action against the family would be initiated since the postmortem report of the boy is out, the police said.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
Further details are awaited.
(With inputs from ANI)