A 13-year-old boy’s hand was forcefully immersed in boiling oil for sleeping while making murukku (snacks) by his employers in Maharashtra. The shocking incident came to light when the boy arrived at his native village to attend the last rites of his father who passed away recently.
Gurusamy, a boy from Vedar Puliyankulam village, near Tirupparankundram, was taken to work at a muruku factory in Maharashtra by Muthumanickam of T Mettupatti, near Usilampatti, two years ago.
As Gurusamy’s father Kaliappan died on June 10, his relatives asked Muthumanickam to send Gurusamy home to attend the last rites. An unidentified person dropped Gurusamy at a relative’s house at Meesalur village in Virudhunagar district at 7 am on Wednesday.
Badrinath, Gurusamy’s paternal uncle, reached Meesalur and brought Gurusamy to Madurai. His family members were shocked to see the burns on his left hand and head. Gurusamy narrated the tale of tortures to his relatives. He said, “My employers did not provide sufficient food to eat. Once when I felt sleepy, they forcefully immersed my hand in boiling oil. They did not provide any treatment for the injuries.”
M Vasudevan, the Central Zone organiser of Tamilnadu Child Rights Protection Network, submitted a complaint to District Collector and Superintendent of Police, Madurai. Collector Ansul Misra advised the relatives to admit Gurusamy in the Government Rajaji Hospital and also ordered an investigation.