Rahul, the Villupuram born three-month-old infant who caught international attention following the claim of his parents that he bursts into flames whenever he sweats, was discharged from the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai on Friday. Doctors attending on him for the last ten days found the child perfectly normal.
“We subjected the child to more than 30 different kinds of tests including the biopsy of the skin and found him normal. We could not find any abnormalities on the child,” Dr Narayana Babu, head, department of paediatrics, told The Pioneer. He said there was nothing which pointed to Spontaneous Human Combustion, a rare medical condition as feared by the doctors.
Interestingly, the KMCH authorities on Thursday wrote to the police asking for a comprehensive investigation into Rahul’s case. Dr P Ramakrishnan, dean, KMC, said the versions given by the parents during psychiatric counselling were found to be inconsistent. The Tamil Nadu Child Welfare Committee too has been informed about Rahul’s condition.
Dr R Krishnamoorthy, joint director, health services, Villupuram, who treated Rahul initially had told The Pioneer that there were missing links in the claims of the parents Karna and Rajeswari. “Till date, nobody has seen the child getting burnt. They claim that the child catches fire whenever he sweats. The burns I found on the boy looked more like inflicted ones. I had suggested that the Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, a condition where the mother or the grandmother causes burns on the baby to get sympathy or attention,” said Dr Krishnamoorthy.
The boy was shifted to KMCH at the instance of the Villupuram Collector so that the boy gets the best treatment.
Karna, father of Rahul, declined the offer made by eminent Ayurvedic physician Prof CM Sreekrishnan that he would treat the child free of cost. When this reporter asked Karna about the medical condition of the child, his response was strange. “Will you be able to help us in getting a house under the Government schemeIJ” he asked.
Dr Babu and his colleagues are happy that the child did not catch fire after he was brought to the hospital. “We cured the child of all his burn marks and he is going home perfectly all right,” said a much relieved Dr Babu.