Thirty-year-old Buttaiah carried his four-year-old son to the local court in Punganur town, 60 km from here, on Saturday and submitted a petition seeking euthanasia for the child, who has been suffering from bone cancer since birth.
Buttaiah, who plays traditional instruments at functions, is a native of Dinnepalle village of Ramasamudram mandal.
His son, Mahesh, was diagnosed with bone cancer a few weeks after birth. Since then, Buttaiah and his spouse have taken the child for treatment to various hospitals in Chennai, Bengaluru, Vellore and Mumbai, spending all their earnings and disposing of their properties to the tune of more than Rs. 15 lakh. Driven to helplessness and poverty, the couple have sought mercy killing for the child.
Speaking to the media, Buttaiah said his family was thoroughly run down and was not in a position to bear the agony of the child weeping due to pain. “It is hell for us to watch the boy weeping uncontrollably ... We have decided to seek mercy killing for the boy.”
The designated judge at Punganur court turned down the petition.
