Tumakur (Karnataka): In yet another incident of superstition, a woman and her newborn baby were driven out by the villagers to a makeshift hut in Tukamur district of Karnataka, sources said. The mother and her newborn have been rescued by the local judge, who has warned the villagers of legal action if the act is repeated.
According to local sources, Undi Manjula Shivappa, Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Gubbi rescued the woman and her newborn on the outskirts of Gollarhatti village of Gubbi taluk in Tumakur district on Wednesday. The senior judge visited the spot following a distress call that the woman and her infant had been driven out of the village by the locals merely on the basis of superstition.
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Sources said that the members of the Kadugolla community in the village “ostracised” the woman and her newborn while citing the “Sutak” period considered to be “inauspicious” according to their belief system. The woman and the infant were abandoned inside a hut posing risk to both of them especially the newborn given the unhygienic conditions.
The local judge who visited the spot rescued the woman and her infant and shifted them home. Sources said that the judge also warned the people that legal action will be taken if such an incident is repeated. Following the incident, Tumakur Tehsildar and health officials visited Gollarhatti. Staff including Tahsildar Siddesh, RCH Mohan, and THO Laxmikant visited the family and counseled the family members.
The incident comes barely a month after an infant died after the mother and the newborn from the same Gollarhatti village were driven out of the village on the basis of superstition in a similar manner. The Kadugolla community kept the mother and the child in a hut citing the 'Sutaka' period leading to death of the girl child child.
