Superstitious father, cleric arrested in child's death case

Kannur: Days after a 11-year-old girl died here allegedly due to superstitious beliefs held by elders in her family, police said on Wednesday they have arrested her father and a Muslim cleric for denying her timely medical treatment for illness.

The police said the girl’s father Abdul Sattar and cleric Muhammad Uwais were arrested on a complaint that the girl, who had a high fever, lost her life as she was denied proper treatment. The girl was allegedly given only ”holy water” by Uwais, imam of a local mosque, when she was taken to him for curing her fever by her family that believed in superstitions, the police said.

The police said the 30-year-old cleric allegedly insisted that the girl’s family read the holy book and not take her to the hospital for treatment. The complainant, who is a relative of the child, has sought investigation also against the cleric into the mysterious death of four more people who were allegedly subjected to superstitious practice and prevented them from seeking medical treatment when they approached the cleric after contracting various diseases, they said.

The police said Fatima, studying in the seventh standard, had been suffering from fever for three days and died on Sunday.

She was taken to a private hospital when the fever did not subside. According to the hospital sources, the girl was brought dead.