A boy who was born with a tail which gave rise to him being worshipped as a god has had his extra part removed - so he can finally walk properly.
Arshid
Ali Khan, who is just 14, has spent his short life being prayed to in
his own temple with visitors often leaving cash or gifts in return for a
blessing.
They believed the youngster - called Balaji to his devotees - was the reincarnation of Hindu monkey god Hanuman.
The
boy was born with a seven-inch fleshy 'tail' growing from his back, but
doctors at Fortis Hospital Mohali in Punjab have removed it, free of
charge in a seven-hour operation to help him walk better in the future.
Balaji’s grandfather, Iqbal Qureshi, 64, said: "We’re extremely happy
and thankful to the doctors for operating on Balaji and help him get
rid of the tail.
"It was really unfortunate that he was born unusual but now he can go on an lead a normal life."
In
2001, when Balaji was born with his tail, measuring 10cm at birth, in
his rural village outside Chandigarh in northern India, hundreds of
people visited to worship him.
Many doctors went on to encourage the family to have the tail removed, but community pressure meant it went untreated.
However, as Balaji has grown, the tail has left him with twisted legs and feet leaving him unable to walk unaided.
Balaji’s
father died in 2004, and his mother, Salma Begum, 28, abandoned Balaji a
year later to marry again. His grandfather Iqbal has been caring for
him ever since.
But in February this year they finally had some hope from a doctor at Fortis Hospital.
Iqbal said: "As we belong to a village and are not very educated, we didn’t know which doctor to meet.
"When we consulted doctors in the past they never seemed confident and we were also scared for Balaji’s life.
"But then a well-wisher told us about Fortis Hospital Mohali and doctors assured us the ‘tail’ could be removed and the spinal cord could be released."
Dr Ashis Pathak, Director of Neurosurgery, at Fortis Hospital Mohali, and his team of surgeons performed the intricate surgery.
