A one-and-half-year-old child, who was sick and taken to a 'tantrik' for treatment by his parents in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahar district, died after the occultist allegedly broke his teeth and tossed him to the ground several times on the pretext of healing him.
The 'tantrik', identified as Ajay Kumar, a resident of More village in the district, was arrested after a case was registered against him, according to police sources here Saturday.
Police said that the child Anuj had not been keeping well for a few days. On the advice of one of their acquaintances, the parents took him to Ajay on Friday who claimed to have possessed miraculous powers.
According to the father of the child Jitendra Kumar, Ajay gave the child some liquid to drink and held him by his feet after that, and tossed him several times to the ground. Several teeth of the child were broken and he also suffered serious injuries on his head, sources said.
The parents rushed the child to a local hospital after he lost consciousness but the doctors declared him dead, police said.
Jitendra later lodged a complaint with the police against Ajay following which the cops arrested the occultist and a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him. Police said that the bottle containing the liquid which was given to the child was seized and was sent for forensic examination.
Sources said that a large number of people from nearby areas used to approach the 'tantrik' for treatment of diseases like jaundice.