Terming it as a case of "blind faith" and "superstition" UP Home Secretary Deepak Kumar said, "The local police did a commendable job by taking timely action, which saved the child's life."
"No sooner than the local cops were informed about the parents trying to bury their girl child, they swooped down on them before the infant would have been suffocated to death," he added.
Reports reaching Lucknow from Panchsheel Nagar said that the child was suffering from a congenital disease. Officials from a local government hospital told the infant's parents that the disease was incurable.
The parents then approached a tantrik, who advised them to bury the child alive if they wanted to stave off the curse of giving birth to a congenitally ill baby.
The tantrik further told them to carry
out the burial at a cremation ground to ensure that their next child would be disease free.
The child's father and maternal uncle took the baby to the cremation ground and were still in the process of digging a pit for the burial when a sweeper at noticed that the infant wrapped up in a piece of white cloth was alive. Without wasting any time, he informed the nearest police station. The policemen rushed to the scene and nabbed the duo.
"On being told about the involvement of the tantrik, the police also rushed to apprehend him, but he managed to escape. However, efforts are on to track him down," the home secretary added.
This is the second such case reported from thet district. A 14- day old girl child was buried alive after being shoved inside an earthen pot in Hapur town of Panchsheel Nagar on April 20.
In this case too the parents buried the girl on a tantrik's advise that the 'ritual' would guarantee the birth of a son.
