Dinesh Kumar, his wife(Bharati Rani) and brother have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly trying to bury their 6 weeks old baby alive in the belief it would protect their other children from illness.
A graveyard caretaker, Sriram Kore in Pilkhuwa, 100km south-west of New Delhi, alerted police after he saw two men attempting to bury baby Radhika in a shallow grave.
Sources said a local guru instructed them to carry out the shocking act as a means off warding off further bad luck after the family lost another child to an incurable disease last year.
Radhika, now two months old, is in hospital recovering from dehydration and malnutrition.
In what could be the third such case in the last month, a local journalist has blamed poverty and illiteracy for the persistence of superstitions.
Couple in UP arrested for trying to bury their 45-day-old girl child alive – YouTube