It’s a tragic victory of blind faith and superstition over science and logic that cost a 12-year-old boy his life.

The boy was killed by his own parents, Ashok and Pramila Malik – both of them doctors in Haryana’s Rohtak – all because a tantrik (quack) told Pramila that she needs to transfuse the boy’s blood into the body of his older brother to help him pass his medical exams.

Pramila and her Ashok made a cut in an artery in their younger son’s neck and tried to transfuse the blood into the older one.

The younger son started losing blood and had to be admitted to a local medical institute where he died.

Malik now denies the charges. “We did no blood transfusion. It’s a big lie,” he says.

The doctor couple told the police a different story. They said they were attacked by burglars the day their son died.

But further investigations revealed the story was not true. It was also revealed that that Pramila was highly superstitious and frequently took advice from tantriks and gurus.

“When we carried out our investigation, we figured the statement didn’t gel with the evidence. There was kerosene oil spilled all over the floor and we were told that Pramila claimed she often dreamt of a guru who would guide her,” says SSP Rohtak, Hanif Qureshi.

While Ashok has been remanded to police custody, Pramila and her elder son are at the moment in hospital. She is being treated for schizophrenia and he for his injuries.