Sorcery deaths: Bodies of 2 children buried without autopsy, exhumed later

The bodies of two children who had died after sorcery practices were allegedly performed on them in West Bengal's Malda district were buried by family members without the conduct of post-mortem, police said on Sunday.

The bodies of the children, who had died in Kadamtali village on Friday night, were later exhumed and sent for autopsy, a police officer said.

The bodies of the boys, aged five and seven, were brought to the village from Malda Medical College and Hospital and buried on Saturday, keeping the police in the dark, he said.

The personnel of Gajol police station exhumed the bodies from two graves in the village in the presence of a magistrate the same day, the officer said.

"One person has been arrested in connection with the incident and an awareness campaign against superstitious beliefs has been launched in the village," Malda Superintendent of Police Alok Rajoria said.

Officials of Gajol block, police personnel and members of West Bengal Vigyan Manch carried out an awareness campaign in the village on Sunday.

Two children had died and as many were injured in the incident, an officer said. The condition of the two sisters, aged three and six, is stable, Amit Kumar Daw, superintendent of the hospital said.

Parents of the children, all of them daily wagers, had said that sorcery practices were performed on the fourboys and girls after they fell unconscious upon their return from a nearby jungle on Friday evening.

The children had gone there to play, they said. Preliminary investigation suggested that the children might have eaten poisonous fruits in the jungle, a police officer had said. "Such an incident in this era is shameful," Sunil Sarkar, district secretary of the West Bengal Vigyan Manch said.