Ganga Dip To Cure Cancer: Parents' Superstition Kills Five-Year Old Boy (image: Pixabay)

Parents” superstition took the life of a five-year-old. The boy who was suffering from blood cancer, was allegedly made to take dip in the freezing Ganga river as his parents believed that it would cure him.

In the harsh winter in Uttarakhand“s Haridwar, the boy had to remain submerged in the water and prolonged stay ended up killing him, NDTV reports as police is saying. Reportedly, boy”s parents and aunt allegedly performed this act hoping that a miracle would cure his disease.

The family lived in Delhi, left for Haridwar in a cab on Wednesday morning. The cab driver reported that the boy looked very ill and family told him that the child is suffering from cancer and doctors in Delhi had given up.

Haridwar city police chief Swantantra Kumar told ANI that the superstitious parents believed that their son”s blood cancer would be healed if he took a dip in the holy Ganga, or Gangasnan.

“The aunt of the boy dipped him in front of his parents. The child was screaming at first, but later the loud cries stopped. Bystanders rushed the child to the hospital, where he was declared dead,” ANI quotes as SP is saying.

A disturbing video of the incident is going rounds on social media. In the video, it can be seen that boy”s aunt repeatedly dipping the boy in the river, while his parents chanted prayers. Some bystanders intervened and forcefully stopped the practice in the middle bringing the boy out of the water.

The boy”s parents and his aunt has been taken into custody and further investigation is progressing, Police said.