Four-year-old boy force-fed ganja by trio falls ill

The victim, Arun (name changed), a UKG kid, has been undergoing treatment at Stanley Hospital. Sources close to Arun’s family said that the incident took place on Saturday afternoon, when the kid was playing outside his grandfather Haridoss’ house on Kannan Street.

Three men from the locality, who are said to be drug addicts, lifted Arun and carried him to a public toilet nearby. They smoked ganja and allegedly blew it down the kid’s throat through a tube. When Arun resisted, they hit him on his head. After he fell unconscious, the trio fled the spot.

Meanwhile, Haridoss and Arun’s parents - Anand and Kanchana - who were searching for Arun found him at a public toilet an hour later after passers-by alerted them. He was rushed to Stanley Hospital, where he narrated the harrowing experience after he regained consciousness. Arun has sustained injuries in his head and doctors said only a scan will rule out any serious damages, said Haridoss.

Arun, who is the second child of Anand and Kanchana, is growing up in his grandfather’s house since Anand was struggling to run the family with his earnings as a car driver, said the source.

Arun’s family said they have even identified the culprits and informed the police and complaints that the Korukkupet police did not arrest them even after two days.

According to them, the three men in question have already been arrested six months ago for selling ganja in the locality. When contacted, Korukkupet inspector Sampath said that two of the accused - Gowth Basha and Ramesh - have been arrested and the hunt for Kumar is on.

However, he ruled out that they made the kid smoke ganja and said that they have been falsely accused over previous enmity between the two families.