Teeth Broken, Tossed To The Ground, UP Child Dies After Quack Visit

A one-year-old child was killed after being taken to an occultist, who broke his teeth and tossed him to the ground while trying to heal him, in Western Uttar Pradesh, his family has alleged.

The child, Anuj, was taken to the quack on Thursday night in Dhakar village of Bulandshahr district after he fell ill, his uncle Saurabh said.

The faith healer, who the police described as a local tantrik, broke some of his teeth and threw him on the ground.

When the family realised the child was unconscious, he was taken to a private hospital for treatment late at night. He was pronounced dead by the doctors there.

Upset family members took the body to the police station and demanded action against the quack.

The tantrik has been arrested and the child's body sent for an autopsy, the police said, adding that their investigation is underway.

The incident comes just days after a three-month-old girl in Madhya Pradesh died after she was poked 51 times on the stomach with a hot iron rod as part of "treatment" by a quack.

The child, who had breathing difficulties, was suffering from pneumonia.

Despite strides in rural healthcare, a shortage of doctors leaves many in villages still relying on faith healers and quacks for treatment.

The Indian Medical Association estimates that the country has about 10 lakh quacks practising allopathic medicine.

Experts say a lack of stringent criminal penalties allows such unqualified practitioners, many of whom work out of hole-in-the-wall clinics in rural areas, to thrive.