Three-month-old Rahul, who was admitted to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital (KMC) following complaints of his going up in flames spontaneously, was discharged on Friday. The boy had been referred to KMC by the Villupuram collector 15 days ago. 31 tests were conducted following suspicions that Rahul could be suffering from ‘spontaneous human combustion.’
The results of the last of the tests were received on Monday. Hospital dean P. Ramakrishnan said, “We came to know that there is no evidence of spontaneous burns in the child. He has recovered completely.” The parents and Rahul’s maternal grandmother K. Tulasi, were given psychiatric counselling. “A clinical evaluation of the three family members does not reveal any significant psychiatric illness. The possibility of child abuse has to be investigated by the appropriate authority, especially police and child welfare agency,” said Dr. Ramakrishnan
Rajeswari was advised to remain in one of the shelters run by the Indian Council of Child Welfare. But she insisted that she wanted to return to her village. “I will take care of my child and will not allow such a thing to happen again,” she told counsellors Malathi Siva and Usha Raghavan.
The hospital has handed over the findings of the investigations to the police and the child welfare agency for appropriate action, the dean said.
