Doctors at a government-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh have saved the life of a three-year-old boy by removing an arrow which pierced his head, an official said on 4th February.

An unidentified person shot the arrow at the boy from close range on January 30 night in tribal-dominated Alirajpur district following which its pointed end got stuck four inches deep into the child's head, Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital's (MYH) neurosurgeon Rakesh Gupta told PTI.

After the incident, doctors at a hospital in Alirajpur tried to remove the arrow from the child's head, but could not succeed. During the exercise, the rear portion of the bamboo arrow was broken, but the pointed iron part remained stuck in the boy's head, Gupta said.

"The child was brought to MYH from Alirajpur in a very serious condition. If the arrow stuck in his head would have moved even a bit, it could have damaged the delicate veins of his brain and endangered his life," he said. An eight-member team of doctors at MYH recently removed the arrow from the boy's head after a complex surgery, Gupta said. The child is now out of danger, he added.

According to police, despite the changing times, tribals of western Madhya Pradesh still attack each other with arrows during a dispute and rivalry. Those injured in such incidents are often brought to MYH where the pointed weapon is removed out of the body through surgery.