‘Treated’ for snakebite by faith-healer, Birhor boy dies

RAMGARH: An eight-year-old Birhor boy died of snakebite at Ramgarh’s Dohakau village, after he was ‘treated’ by a faithhealer instead of being taken to a hospital.

Birhor are a particularly vulnerable tribal group, with a total population of around 10,000.

After the boy was bitten by the snake, the superstitious family called a shaman, who treated the boy with ‘magic’. When the boy eventually died, his family buried the body at a deserted area nearby.

“We came to know about the incident on Wednesday morning. We sent a government medical vehicle with a panchayat sevak of the village. But the boy had already died by the time the vehicle reached the village,” Ramgarh block development officer Pawan Kumar Mahto said, adding that they have given `2,000 and 50 kg rice as compensation to the boy’s family.

Mahto said the district administration has provided the Bihrors with government houses and other facilities but they do not avail of the aid. “We have directed to all the Birhors to inform us immediately after any incident of snakebite or other problems. The local panchayat members always keep a vigil on them,” he said.