Family holds ritual at Chhotaudepur hospital to retrieve soul of man

A bizarre incident unfolded at Chhotaudepur Civil Hospital in Gujarat, where a family, accompanied by a tantrik (faith healer), arrived to retrieve the soul of a man who had died three days earlier. The deceased, Dhanjibhai Vechalabhai Rathwa from Khodivali village, had been admitted for treatment at the hospital, but succumbed to illness.

On the third day after his death, the family performed rituals at the hospital gate, claiming it was part of an age-old tribal tradition meant to bring peace to the departed soul. The tantrik asserted that he had successfully taken the soul from the hospital premises.

Hospital authorities criticised the incident, calling it a result of deep-rooted superstition in the tribal belt. Chhota Udepur Civil Hospital’s in-charge superintendent Keval Modi said the staff had been instructed to oppose such practices. “Due to inadequate security and staff shortages, people sometimes manage to perform these rituals. We try our best to stop them,” he said.

The Science Forum at the hospital also condemned the act, calling it unscientific and misleading. “The idea of taking or transferring a soul is entirely false,” members said, urging people to abandon such superstitious beliefs.