4 days after he was set on fire by father, son dies in hospital

● FOLLOWING THE Incident on Sunday, the magistrate recorded the child’s dying declaration on Monday, wherein the victim told the police that his father had beaten him severely, dragged him out of the hut and set him on fire. He was rushed to Gandhi Hospital with 50 per cent body burns and breathed his last on Thursday morning.

The 10-year-old boy who was battling for life with severe burns after his drunk father set him ablaze on Sunday for not studying, succumbed while undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital in the early hours of Thursday.

Ratlavath Balu, a chronic alcoholic, had set his son on fire as he was watching television with his mother at their residence in KPHB of Cyberabad. Balu has been arrested and sent to judicial remand.

Following the incident on Sunday, the magistrate recorded the child’s dying declaration on Monday, wherein the victim told the police that his father had beaten him severely, dragged him out of the hut and set him on fire. He was rushed to Gandhi Hospital with 50 per cent body burns and breathed his last on Thursday morning.

Balu confessed to the offence and told the police that his son had been not attending classes during the lockdown and had become

“arrogant.”

Balu, who came home drunk, asked his son to get beedis for him. When he returned late, Balu attacked him. He then poured a can of turpentine oil on him and lit it, using the same matchstick which he used to light his beedi. Charan ran for help and fell in a ditch after which his mother and neighbours put off the fire and took him to hospital.

KPHB police had initially registered a case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, which would now be altered as 302 (murder).