Chhendiapada: A sorcerer was seen reciting mantras to cure a patient bitten by a snake Monday. The whole incident happened right beside the Chhendipada sub-divisional hospital in Angul district to the amusement of onlookers. The victim was identified as Jhuna Bhutia of Mamuria Nuasahi.
As usual, Jhuna woke up Monday morning and got busy in her household chores. Meanwhile, a snake, believed to have slithered into her house at night, bit Jhuna.
Hearing her screams, family members rescued her and hired an auto-rickshaw to take her to a hospital. Half-way through, someone spotted them and called a sorcerer who tried to say mantras and heal Jhuna inside the auto-rickshaw.
The man could be seen reciting the mantras till the vehicle reached the hospital premises. Instead of getting healed, Jhuna’s condition worsened after which family members admitted her to the hospital.
Such incidents have been reported from the area in the past. Since long, numerous cases of sorcery practice to revive the dead and heal patients have been reported from the premises of Chhendipada sub-divisional hospital.
While the incident was condemned by intellectuals, hospital authorities claimed ignorance over the matter. The condition of Jhuna remained critical till the filing of this report.
PNN