Infant's Eyes Damaged After He Was Hanged Upside Down Over Fire: Madhya Pradesh Police

An occultist's horrific 'exorcism' ritual left a six-month-old baby almost blinded in eyes after he was hung upside down over fire in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, setting police on the trail of the self-proclaimed tantrik.

Officials on Saturday said the ritual badly damaged the eyes of the infant and it is difficult to predict whether his eyesight will be restored.

The shocking incident occurred under Kolaras police station area on March 13 after the baby's parents took him to tantrik Raghuveer Dhakad's house to 'treat' him for discomfort, officials said.

What followed was an 'exorcism' ritual after the tantrik told parents that their son was being haunted by some shadows.

The baby was hanged upside down over a fire with his parents watching and enduring his cries hoping he would be "cured".

The incident came to light when the parents took their son to the Shivpuri district hospital, police said.

"The boy is being treated at the hospital," said Superintendent of Police Aman Singh Rathod.

He said that considering the seriousness of the matter, a case has been registered against Dhakad on a complaint lodged by Janved Parihar, a village Kotwar who reports crimes to police.

Dhakad is yet to be arrested as the investigation is underway, police said.

Shivpuri District Hospital's ophthalmologist Dr Girish Chaturvedi said the child's eyes were badly damaged and he was admitted to the ICU.

"We will know only after 72 hours if his eyesight will be restored. His eyes are seriously injured," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)