A 13-year-old boy, student of Class VIII, allegedly set himself on fire inside the boy's washroom at his school on Wednesday morning. Prima facie it appears that one of the teachers in the school was harassing the child and also called him names once in the classroom as well. The boy has been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with 45 per cent burns and has been kept under observation in the Intensive Care Unit.
According to the police, the incident took place around 8 am at the second floor inside the school. According to school Principal Deepak Rai, the child did not report to the classroom after prayer assembly in morning and went to the toilet instead, where he allegedly poured petrol and tried to immolate himself. It was the sweeper, who noticed smoke emanating from the boy's toilet and alerted the other staff members. The police was informed and the boy was rushed to a nearby hospital from where he was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Police officials revealed that the boy had carried the petrol inside the school in his water bottle. In the CCTV footage obtained from the school the child is seen walking towards the toilet along with the bottle. The child has suffered 45 per cent burn injuries and is admitted at Burn’s Ward at Safdarjung. His condition is stated to be critical. The family members of the victim alleged that one of the Sanskrit teachers at the school slapped him.
“The teacher slapped him when he had gone to get his copy checked. She not only hit him but also said that he won't be successful in life and will be a peon in his family,” said a family member. Some people also claimed that he was also upset over the death of his grandfather who he was close to. The child had lost his father at a tender age and was close to his grandfather. In fact, from the time his grandfather was unwell he wanted to spend most of the time with him and because of this reason his marks had gradually began to dip. The police officials have not received any formal complaint from the family members and the boy is currently unfit for statement. “No case has been registered so far. The child is under medical treatment and is unable to give any formal statement. Once he is fine we will speak to him and take necessary action,” said Commissioner of Police (Faridabad) Subhash Yadav.
The Medical Superintendant of Safdarjung Hospital Dr Rajpal was quite clueless about the entire incident. While he didn't even know whether the case was of a boy or a girl in the first place, he did inform that the burns suffered by the child were on 45 per cent of his body. “The child is critical and has suffered 45 per cent of burns. The burns are all over the body on the face and hands as well. The hospital is currently doing its best to stabilise the child and ensure that the best treatment is provided,” said Rajpal.
Abuse or peer pressureIJ
Psychologists feel that such a case has to do a lot with the current state of mind of the student. Most commonly, they say that the child doesn’t realise the consequences of conducting such an act. Psychiatrist Dr Nikhil Raheja said, “There are a multitude of reasons as to why the child could have committed such an act. It could be physical abuse, peer pressure, consequent ridiculing in school or at home, he could have self-image issues or even have studying problems. A child of such a tender age doesn't understand consequences and such acts are more out of impulsivity. Kids pick up these things from movies, books or even media and when they are suddenly at an extremely low phase, they take these drastic steps.”