On April 2nd in Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh, India), an 8-year-old boy suffered severe burns while playing childhood games with other boys near his home in the Dharmonala area of Azamgarh. During their playtime, a minor disagreement occurred between this victim of the attack and one other boy from the neighboring Mohalla Ainiya; fighting is common between children.
However, this was not just a common disagreement, when the two boys began to argue with each other, it escalated into violence as the boy from Mohalla Ainiya poured petrol on the victim before lighting him on fire.
From Play To Chaos
The mother of the victim, Anjum, detailed how horrific it was in her police report. According to onlookers, at about 7:00 PM, the victim’s child was being a regular kid and playing outside with friends, but an argument caused the other child to lash out in a rage. The onlookers claim that the other child poured an accelerant on the victim’s legs and then lit it on fire, which caused him to immediately scream out for help in agony.
Witnesses have identified that many people tried to help the victim by extinguishing the fire and preventing it from rapidly spreading across the victim’s body. The collective actions of witnesses prevented the fire from doing even more damage than it did, as the child was still seen suffering with serious injuries and shortly after being taken to District Hospital, he was placed in a hospital gown for treatment of his injuries.
Police Action and Legal Steps
The police were called right away, and Kotwali police acted quickly. The police responded to Anjum’s report of the incident by opening a case against the child based on the formal police report. The police charged the child who committed the act of violence under Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to attempted murder; therefore, it is important that we recognize how serious the situation is, as both children are eight years old.
In response to the multiple complaints of minor violent behavior in Kalyan, Inspector Yadavendra Pandey, the officer in charge of the Kotwali Police Station, confirmed that a case is being investigated due to its alleged capacity to become criminally liable under the applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) regarding the offence. This case is being prosecuted by the Indian police for acts that occur while children are playing together in the neighborhood, such as being able to access volatile substances like petrol and being able to set them on fire.
Concerns About Child Violence Rising
This unfortunate incident is part of a worrisome increase in children committing violent acts against each other (or an adult) due to very small disagreements. There are serious concerns from the public regarding the amount of violence children are willing to do (to each other) at extremely young ages due to being influenced by, and having access to, very violent entertainment and hazardous materials like petrol at home through their own homes.
Khalid Qasid is a media enthusiast with a strong interest in documentary filmmaking. He holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC. He has also written extensively on esports at Sportsdunia. Currently, he covers world and general news at NewsX Digital.
