Anganwadi attendant pours hot khichdi on 3-yr-old boy

Kolkata: A three-year-old boy from Khidirpur village of Raghunathgunj in Murshidabad suffered serious burn injuries after an Anganwadi woman poured hot khichdi on him.

The victim had insisted on having two boiled eggs, instead of one. This made the woman attendant of the Anganwadi centre so angry that she poured boiling khichdi on his body. A resident of Raghunathgunj, the victim was having mid-day meal at the Anganwadi centre on Saturday morning when the incident took place.

The boy was rushed to Jangipur sub-divisional hospital where he is undergoing treatment. The accused woman is said to be absconding. According to local sources, the accused woman was distributing food among the children at the Anganwadi centre. Every child is entitled to get one egg each. When the victim asked for two eggs, she became very angry and poured the steaming hot khichdi on him. The locals came to know about the matter when the Anganwadi officials tried to take the patient to the hospital. The victim sustained injuries in various parts of his body. The accused woman fled the spot immediately after the incident to avoid an arrest.

Senior administrative officials of the district assured that stringent steps would be taken against the accused. Police have started a probe in this regard and are conducting raids to nab the culprit. Other workers of the centre are being questioned.

The victim's parents said they never thought that the boy would be tortured in this manner only for asking an extra egg. According to the district administration, the health condition of the patient is stated to be stable, though he suffered serious injuries in his lower abdomen.