MYSURU: A four-year-old boy, who had come with his parents to watch the grand Dasara Jamboo Savari procession on Wednesday evening, sustained a serious head injury after allegedly being hit by a police lathi amid the crowd at Highway Circle in Mysuru. The child named Shishir is undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Speaking to TNIE, the child's father Girish, said police personnel deployed to manage the massive crowd near Highway Circle resorted to a lathi charge during the procession, and the baton struck the boy on the head while he was standing next to his parents.
The impact left the child bleeding profusely, leaving his parents in shock.
They rushed him to a private hospital, where doctors provided emergency treatment. The child reportedly required stitches on his head, and his condition has caused grave concern among family members.
"We brought our child to watch Dasara, but we could not bear to see him lying in a pool of blood. Was it necessary to wield a lathi against a small child?" the boy's father said. He added that doctors have told them they have to open the skull to ensure there is no blood clot.
While the family has alleged that a police baton struck the boy, an investigation is needed to establish the sequence of events and determine whether there was any negligence on the part of the police.
Rangaswamy, a former corporator told that a formal complaint will be given at the jurisdiction police seeking action against the police personnel who hit the boy.
