Jajpur: A 12-year-old boy, who had come home for Durga Puja holidays from his boarding school, allegedly set himself afire here Tuesday after his request to stay back longer was turned down by parents, a police officer said.
The boy, a resident of Samarpita village, sustained severe burn injuries and was first taken to a local community health centre in Kalinga Nagar and later shifted to SCB Medical College & Hospital in Cuttack, he said.
A student of Class 7 at a school in Dahani Gadia area of the district, he is currently battling for life, the officer stated, adding that the police were looking into the matter.
His mother, talking to reporters, said, “My child was scheduled to go back to school today after spending his puja vacation at home. He, however, showed reluctance… He wanted to stay back for some more days. His father insisted that he would accompany the child to his school today after returning home from work.”
According to her, she had gone to a nearby pond to wash clothes sometime in the afternoon, “when the child set himself on fire”.
PTI