Two children dead after a visit to ‘exorcist’ in Bengal’s Malda

BERHAMPORE: Two children, aged five and seven years, died after a local witch doctor performed exorcism on them for nearly three hours.

The children had fallen ill while playing in a mango orchard at Malda in north Bengal on Friday.

Their parents called a local witch doctor, after villagers alleged that the children might have been possessed by evil spirits they believe have taken shelter in the orchard.

Two other children, aged four and six years, have been admitted at the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH).

Their condition was stated to be stable by doctors.

“The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. Investigation is underway,” said an officer from Gazole police station.

The four children had taken ill while playing in a field at Kadamtali village in Gazole.

The children complained of headache and stomach ache after returning home on Friday evening. They were vomiting too.

“The witch doctor performed exorcism on the kids for around three hours. The condition of the children deteriorated. They were rushed to a state-run hospital. While one died on the way, another succumbed in the hospital,” said Dipali Biswas, a member of the West Bengal legislative assembly from Gazole, in Malda district.

After the incident, panic gripped the villagers, who stopped stepping out of their homes. They claimed that there were some evil spirits in the village.

“A few persons have died in the village in the last few years after they were possessed by evil spirits. We believe that the four children were possessed by the same evil spirits. So we took the help of a witch doctor. We are trying to find a way to get rid of the ghosts,” said Asif Sheikh, the maternal uncle of one of the hospitalised children.

A doctor from the Malda hospital, who didn’t wish to be named, however, said that the four children might have eaten some poisonous fruit in the orchard after which had fallen ill.

“Only the autopsy report can confirm the exact reason of death,” he added.

TWO OTHER CHILDREN,

AGED FOUR AND SIX YEARS, HAVE BEEN HOSPITALISED AND THEIR CONDITION IS STATED TO BE STABLE