Man tries to push ailing mother in river on exorcist's order, arrested

Sonia Devi, 70, who suffered from chronic skin condition thought that her son was taking her to a doctor for treatment.

Never did she imagine in the wildest of her dreams that he had in fact planned to throw her into a river, a  ‘jal samadhi’ or sorts.

He had been assured by a tantrik (exorcist) that his mother would be rid of her vitiligo – a disease in patches of skin lose pigment – if she was thrown into any sacred river.

Her son Ramesh Prasad and his friend were caught by people taking a bath in the river. They suspected some foul play and handed them over to the police after thrashing them.

According to reports, Ramesh, a resident of Narayanpur Bara Tola village in Deoria district, told police that he was facing problems in fixing the marriages of his daughters as his mother suffered from vitiligo.

“No one wanted to have any relationship with us as they thought that the disease was contagious and that they too will contract it if they married their sons into my family,” Ramesh reportedly said.

“I had shown my mother to many doctors but the white spots simply refused to disappear. I was fed up,” he said.

Ramesh came in contact with a tantrik who advised him a ‘jal samadhi’ for his mother and assured him that she would get rid of her disease.

On Sunday, Ramesh and his friend brought Sonia Devi to the bank of Saryu in the neighbouring Gorakhpur district and after some rituals entered the waters with the old woman.

Some people, who were taking a bath nearby caught the duo before they could push the old woman into the deep waters.

A case of attempt to murder was registered against them and they have been sent to jail, the police said.