The age-old tradition is practiced at the Baba Sheikh Umar Saheb Dargah in Solapur, Maharashtra, and people come from miles for the annual event.

The baby-throwing gesture is meant to thank God for the arrival of a baby for couples who took a vow at the shrine, CNN reported. The villagers also say it is good for the health of the child.

“People have been following this tradition for almost 500 years now. They believe that if they throw the child from the roof then it does good to him or her,” Ravikiran Mehta, an official from Musti village in Solapur, told CNN.

There has been no recorded evidence of any physical disability to the infants, he added.

But critics want the practice to be stopped.

“Such bizarre rituals should be banned and the state government should intervene," the president of the group Rationalist International told CNN. "Such practices are a challenge to our sensibilities and the basic concept of common well-being,” Sanal Edamaruku said.

Hindu families in other parts of the country also take part in the ritual, Denmark's Ekstrabladet newspaper reported.

Indian government officials have chosen not to interfere in the tradition and provide heavy police security during the event each year, CNN said.