5-month-old infant dies after being branded with hot iron rod in Madhya Pradesh

A five-month-old infant, Hrishabh Kol passed away in Shahdol district after reportedly being subjected to a superstitious practice involving hot iron branding.

This marks the fifth such case in the region within the past two months. The infant, diagnosed with pneumonia, was admitted to the district hospital on Monday and subsequently referred to a medical college, where he succumbed to the illness on Wednesday.

Health officials are grappling with the difficulty of determining whether the child was indeed branded, as the marks on the abdomen are perplexing and differ from previous cases. While three marks were found on the infant’s abdomen, the medical team is unable to definitively confirm the branding. In addition to pneumonia, the child had also developed septicaemia, complicating the situation, as reported by Times of India.

Shahdol’s initiative to eradicate infant branding

Dr AK Lal, the Chief Medical and Health Officer in Shahdol, stated that efforts to raise awareness about the harmful practice of branding infants with hot iron are underway. The district collector has initiated awareness drives, particularly targeting the tribal population. Camps have been organised, and instructions have been issued to ASHA workers to visit homes, identify children, and report any instances of branding marks. Simultaneously, awareness campaigns are being conducted to educate and sensitise the community about the dangers associated with such superstitious practices.