‘Boy who bursts into flames’ is a burning debate in Chennai

The boy was born on May 22,the second child of Karnan,26,and Rajeswari,23. Nine days later,he was admitted to the government hospital in Villupuram district with burns on the anterior part of the body. The family reported he had caught fire suddenly at the home of Rajeswari’s mother,Tulasi,at Nedimozhiyanur village. “We heard his cries and ran in to find the cloth covering him on fire,” says Tulasi.

Three days after they returned home,the family says,the boy burst into flames again,burning down their hut. The boy suffered burns on the head. This time,doctors were unconvinced and reported the matter as possible child abuse; police questioned the family but found no evidence.

In the village,there came an allegation that another house had been damaged in a fire,turning many villagers against the family,who then went to Karnan’s village,T Parangini. Soon afterward,the family reported two more occurrences and the boy was admitted to a primary health centre,and then to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education in Puducherry.

Villagers of T Parangini accused the boy of being Neruppu Pisasu (fire devil). He was even taken to a magic doctor. Following reports in the vernacular media,district collector V Sampath asked joint director (health) Dr R Krishnamoorthy to investigate.

“I found him undernourished,with burn injuries on his head,face,chest,arms,abdomen and legs — some old,some new. The one on the head was serious. So I recommended shifting him to Chennai,” says Dr Krishnamoorthy.

The boy was admitted to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital,Chennai,on August 8. Doctors have checked for possible injuries suggesting child abuse,besides doing a psychiatric evaluation of the parents. “There was no physical indication of abuse,” says Dr R Narayana Babu,head of paediatrics and who is leading the team. “We are considering the spontaneous combustion factor.”

Spontaneous human combustion is a theory that has had no witnesses to explain what had started the fire. In all previous cases cited,the victims have been charred to death with even the bones in ashes,though at times a limb has been left intact. The surroundings have been relatively undamaged.

Some attribute it to rare chemical reactions such as a methane build-up under the skin. Another theory,by Larry E Arnold,attributes it to an undiscovered particle,pyrotron,that apparently causes a fusion-like reaction to generate intense energy.

In the absence of a precedent,says Dr Babu at the Chennai hospital,there are no specified tests or treatment. The team has done blood and urine tests,a metabolic study,a radiology examination,a toxic substance analysis,and a genetic test and molecular study. Half the results have been normal,and the rest are expected to come in soon.

Dr V Jayaraman,former head of plastic surgery at the hospital,recalls a possible precedent from about 20 years ago. An 11-year-old boy had come with a blister on the shoulder. “He claimed it was caused by a small flame emanating from his body. But he never came again.” Jayaraman says.

Dr J Jagan Mohan,the current head of plastic surgery,has noted his dissent against this line of inquiry. “Before trying the find the cause of so-called SHC,we should find out if there has been any reporting about an actual case. Is this mysterious cause of death supported by any research or published work in a scientific journal?” he says.

Dr Krishnamoorthy,the doctor who referred the boy to Chennai,suspects Münchausen syndrome by proxy,an abnormality where the guardian fabricates or exaggerates a child’s sickness to gain attention. “Scientific investigations were done to prove that most of the alleged SHC deaths were in fact due to carelessness,self-inflicted or murders. Proxy syndrome,unlike the combustion theory,is backed by scientific research,” he says.