Boy burns self to bunk school

Fear of being punished for stealing a classmate’s wallet made him do it

VELLORE: In what was a classic case of committing one mistake to hide the other, a 14-year-old boy tried to skip school for stealing a wallet by causing minor burn injuries on his own body as an excuse, but it went horribly wrong. As he couldn’t control the fire after he poured kerosene over himself and lit it, he was left with major burn injuries.

According to police, Rahul (name changed) is a native of Thathanavaasal in Tirupattur. He, along with a friend, had stolen the wallet of one of their classmates. Realising that his wallet has been stolen, the boy took the issue to their class teacher. After inquiries, the teacher reportedly found that Rahul and his friend were the culprit. Fearing that he would be punished by the school authorities, Rahul decided to bunk the next day’s class by creating minor burn injuries.

He secretly carried kersone on his bicycle and left home on Tuesday. After travelling some distance he entered a mango orchard. Ensuring that no one was noticing him, Rahul poured kerosene over his body and set himself on fire. That was when he lost the plot. As the pain of burning skin became unbearable, he screamed and started running towards a house around 200 metres from the orchard. Seeing a boy running with flames all over his body, locals rushed towards him and doused the fire. They immediately took him to a nearby hospital.

When the villagers asked Rahul about the incident, he said two unknown persons waylaid him, took him to the orchard and set him on fire by pouring kerosene. However, during the investigation the police found that the boy himself set the fire to bunk the school.

Rahul is the son of a daily wage worker. His mother, a house maid in Bengaluru, has been living separately due to some family disputes. Tirupattur Taluk police have registered a case and are inquiring further. The victim has been admitted in a government hospital in Chennai.

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