Newborn Buried Alive for Ensuring Long Life - as part of the news and politics series by GeoBeats.

In a harrowing incident, a newbon was buried alive in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The baby, just a few days old, was buried in an earthern pot, ironically for ensuring a long life.

As India Today reports, parents of the baby were advised to do so by a tantric. Tantrics perform tantra which has spiritual origins but often takes the form of black magic or other superstitous and controversial practices.

The Asian Age notes that in this particular instance, parents reached out to a tantrik after the birth of their fifth child. Their first four children had died shortly after birth. They desperately wanted to save the newborn and chose to follow the tantric's advice

The neighbors spotted the pot and reported to the police. Fortunately, the pot's lid was partially open and the baby miraculously survived even after being there for nearly two days. And the couple has been charged with attempted murder.

As scary as this situation seems, many other superstitions still persist in rural parts of India even though the country is rapidly becoming an economic powerhouse.

One of the most controversial ones is dropping babies from towers that can be as high as 50 feet. The falling toddlers are awaited by a sprawling bed sheet that acts as a trampoline of sorts, then are quickly passed to their mothers. Practitioners believe that this ritual leads to stronger babies.