Hyderabad: A 11-year-old boy was set ablaze inside the military area in Medhipatnam.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy said that based on the statement of the victim, the police had booked an attempt to murder case under IPC Section 307, and special teams have been formed to investigate the matter.
“The boy has given a statement blaming Army officials. However, we are yet to find out who committed the offence and what the motive was. The victim did not say why he was attacked. We are investigating the case from all possible angles,” Mr Reddy told this newspaper.
The commissioner added that Army officials were fully cooperating with the investigation. “They also want the truth to come out. The investigation is transparent, and we have included elders from the locality in the inquiry, which the Army has welcomed,” added Mr Reddy. Meanwhile, the area remained tense with hundreds of locals demanding arrest of the accused. A large security force, including police and the paramilitary, was deployed to control the mob. A mild scuffle broke out between protesters and the police, and additional forces were called in at night.
The boy, Syed Mustafa, who resides at a basti near the military land, was rushed to the hospital where his condition remains critical.
Local sources alleged that the accused had tried to kill the boy to conceal some illegal activity that had taken place inside the Army area. However, police officials have not confirmed this. According to the boy’s relatives, the locals found him running for help, engulfed in fire. They doused the fire and rushed him to the Osmania General Hospital with 90 per cent burns. He was later shifted to DRDO Apollo hospital.
Police said that there were several gaps in the fences around the Army land, and the boy had entered the area through one of them.
