The two-and-a-half-year-old girl who suffered torture in a suspected case of black magic at Halyal village near Athani died in Belagavi on Friday.
Her identity is yet to be established.
The girl had suffered burns, suspected to be from camphor and almond oil. The police had suspected that she was a victim of black magic, based on burn marks that formed a pattern on her body.
She was admitted in the paediatric intensive care unit. She was being treated for infections that spread from her burns and complications related to epilepsy, a doctor said. The post-mortem report is expected by Saturday, a police officer said.
“All our staff worked hard to save the girl. But it was not possible. It is very unfortunate,” said Raj Viveki, director of the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences. He said the body has been kept in the freezer to see if anyone comes to claim it. “The body will be kept till Monday, when the police and Revenue officials will cremate it,” he said.
Farmers had rescued the girl from a sugarcane field where she was thrown after being burnt on September 23. The girl was found in a semi-unconscious state. She had sustained burns from her nose to her private parts and on the back in straight lines.
She was shifted to the district hospital after initial treatment in a private hospital in Athani.
A case has been registered under sections of murder and other relevant sections of IPC and some provisions of the POCSO Act and Juvenile Justice Act. An investigator said the girl could have been a victim of black magic or her parents or relatives may have gone to a quack to cure her of epilepsy where an unscientific and crude method could have been used.
“We were trying to trace her family by sharing information with border States and the general public. But no information is forthcoming. We have released the details again, hoping to get some clue,” said Lakshman Nimbaragi, SP.
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