ATHANI (BELAGAVI DISTRICT): A nine-year-old boy from Belagavi district miraculously survived a black magic attempt after unidentified miscreants buried him in a ditch and left him for dead late Saturday evening. He was rescued by villagers early Sunday.A police officer said Rajkumar Tuppasamudra, from Kokatunar of Athani taluk, about 140km from Belagavi town, was reported missing on Saturday afternoon. After he returned from the village's government school, his parents didn't see him for a long time, and launched a search for the class III boy till late night.Their efforts drew a blank. The next morning, a few persons who had gone to the village's outskirts to answer the call of nature, heard a boy's screams. They found the boy in a ditch covered with stone slabs. He was found semiconscious, hand and legs tied. Villagers lifted Rajkumar from the pit and informed his parents. The boy was treated at a primary health centre of the village and then shifted to a private hospital at Miraj, Maharashtra. His family said the boy was out of danger.Police said the boy was injured and suspected miscreants might have beaten up him before whisking him away with an intention to sacrifice him in a black-magic ritual. Police have launched a hunt for the accused.