Hyderabad boy set ablaze by father succumbs to injuries

A 12-year-old boy set ablaze by his father for not performing well academically and not attending online classes, succumbed to his injuries at the state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday, police said. Speaking to TNM, Raja Rao, Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital, said, “The boy (identified as R Charan) had 93% burns and he succumbed yesterday (Wednesday) at 9.05 pm. The autopsy is yet to be conducted.”

Police said Charan's father, R Balu, a daily wage worker, had set him afire on Sunday night at their shanty in a private school campus in Kukatpally Housing Board Colony under Cyberabad police commissionerate. Balu's wife worked as an attendant at the school. A police officer said that an inebriated Balu first beat up the Class 6 student over his educational activities even as the boy's mother tried to stop him. An infuriated Balu then poured turpentine oil on Charan and set him ablaze, the police said.

The boy ran out of the house, where locals doused the flames and rushed him to a hospital. Police later arrested Balu, a native of Nagarkurnool. Initially, a police official had told TNM that Charan was set on fire because he delayed getting his father some beedis. 

On January 18, TNM had reported this story based on a quote from KPHB police Sub-Inspector Sakram, who had said, “The incident occurred on Sunday evening. According to the complaint, the father burnt the boy, as the boy took time to get a beedi for him. The incident was followed by a fight between the father and the son and in a fit of rage, the father poured turpentine oil over the boy and set him on fire. The victim ran outside the house and fell into a pit, after which his family members and neighbours rescued him and shifted him to a hospital.”

However, the police now say Charan was set on fire by his father as he was infuriated about his educational performance. Police said that the boy was rescued in 2019 under 'Operation Smile' while he was working at a bike-repair shop, following which police had counselled his parents.

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