Sorcery deaths: Bodies of 2 children buried without autopsy,

The bodies of two children who had died after sorcery practices were allegedly performed

on them in West Bengal's Malda district were buried by family members without the conduct of post-mortem, police said on

Sunday. The bodies of the children, who had died in Kadamtali

village on Friday night, were later exhumed and sent for autopsy, a police officer said.

The bodies of the boys, aged five and seven, were brought to the village from Malda Medical College and Hospital

and buried on Saturday, keeping the police in the dark, he said.

The personnel of Gajol police station exhumed the bodies from two graves in the village in the presence of a

magistrate the same day, the officer said. "One person has been arrested in connection with the

incident and an awareness campaign against superstitious beliefs has been launched in the village," Malda

Superintendent of Police Alok Rajoria said. Officials of Gajol block, police personnel and members

of West Bengal Vigyan Manch carried out an awareness campaign in the village on Sunday.

Two children had died and as many were injured in the incident, an officer said.

The condition of the two sisters, aged three and six, is stable, Amit Kumar Daw, superintendent of the hospital

said. Parents of the children, all of them daily wagers,

had said that sorcery practices were performed on the four boys and girls after they fell unconscious upon their return

from a nearby jungle on Friday evening. The children had gone there to play, they said.

Preliminary investigation suggested that the children might have eaten poisonous fruits in the jungle, a police

officer had said. "Such an incident in this era is shameful," Sunil

Sarkar, district secretary of the West Bengal Vigyan Manch said.