In Haridwar, Uttarakhand, a five-year-old boy who was terminally ill passed away due to superstition and the hope of a miracle. The child’s parents thought that the Ganga river would heal him from blood cancer. The boy was immersed in the icy river during the harsh northern Indian winter.

The Delhi-based family departed for Haridwar at approximately nine in the morning on Wednesday. The child, according to the taxi driver, was with his parents and another female relative. She has been named as the boy’s aunt. The boy appeared really ill, according to the taxi driver, who also learned from the boy’s family that he had cancer and that doctors in Delhi had given up.

In a startling video, the boy’s parents can be heard reciting prayers as his aunt dunks him. When they realized the boy had been submerged for too long, some onlookers began requesting the family to bring him out. When they didn’t, the people gathered there dragged the boy out with force. The aunt can be seen reacting violently and even attempting to harm the people removing the boy . After being taken to the hospital, the doctors pronounced the child dead.

The boy’s aunt can be seen sitting next to the body in a different video, expressing her confidence that the child will resurrect.

Swantantra Kumar, the chief of Haridwar city police, said, “We are receiving the hospital in Delhi’s reports. However, it seems that they brought the boy here now because they thought Ganga snan would heal him,” he remarked. According to police, the boy’s aunt and parents have been arrested and will be questioned.