Bengaluru: In a bizarre ritual, an 18-month-old boy was made to lie on the hot charcoal bed by his parents at a shrine on Monday.
In a video captured of the incident, a man can be seen putting the baby, wrapped in banana leaves on a charcoal bed in Dharwad district’s Allapur during Muharram observance. The baby is seen crying and struggling to escape the heat as smoke from the charcoal surrounds him, NDTV reports.
“The parents of the baby had prayed for a boy two years ago. On their wish being fulfilled, they had come to fulfil their promise. The baby was placed on a bed of charcoal that was doused off. As it was slightly hot, banana leaves were used. It was for just a couple of seconds,” police said.
The Child Welfare Committee has been informed of a request to counsel the parents. However, no case is registered against them, police informed.
The Karnataka cabinet cleared its much-awaited legislation to end “inhuman evil practices”, just a few days before this incident, popularly known as the anti-superstition bill.
The ‘Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017’, seeks to prohibit enforcing any person or persons to perform firewalk.