Child With Cancer Dipped In Ganga In Hope Of ‘Miracle Cure’ Dies

The boy was rushed to the hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival...

A seven year old boy, suffering from blood cancer died after he was dipped several times in the Ganga River for 15 minutes by his parents who were in hope that a miracle will happen and cure him. 

A video of the incident viral on social media, showed the boy's aunt, Sudha, continuously dipping the child in the river while his parents chanted mantras.

The boy was rushed to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The parents, Rajkumar and Shanti, along with Sudha, were detained by police. The family belongs to Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi. The boy’s father told cops they had taken him to AIIMS-Delhi a couple of days ago, where doctors asked the family to return home as the cancer had advanced and there was no hope of the boy surviving. Despite the doctors advising against it, the family proceeded to Haridwar hoping for a miracle.

An eyewitness from Kurukshetra in Haryana, who witnessed the boy being repeatedly dunked in the river around 2pm on Monday, described the chilling scene, saying, “I screamed, after which a man forcefully pulled out the child from his aunt’s grasp. We tried to save him, but he showed no signs of life.” Angry pilgrims confronted the family before the police arrived to control the situation.

SP (city) Swatantra Kumar confirmed that Ravi’s health condition had led to the family’s decision to seek divine intervention. He claimed that the autopsy of the boy had revealed that drowning was not the cause of death. Another senior police officer meanwhile said they are investigating whether the boy was already dead before being dipped in the river, or he died of cold.