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New Delhi: What should have been a night of celebration turned into a scene of unimaginable cruelty in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district where an 11-year-old boy is now battling severe burns, allegedly inflicted over something as trivial as eating two sweets.

The child, Amar alias Chaman, a Class 2 student, had attended a relative’s wedding in Malauli Gosai village with his grandmother on Wednesday evening. Like many children at such gatherings, he was playing around the venue when he wandered near the food area and picked up two rasgullas.

That small act, his family says, triggered a violent reaction.

According to allegations made by relatives and initial police inputs, a catering contractor confronted the boy, caught hold of him, and in a shocking escalation, poured diesel on him and set him on fire. In another account emerging from eyewitnesses, the child was allegedly dragged near a burning tandoor during the confrontation and ended up falling into it amid the chaos.

Guests rushed in after hearing his screams and managed to douse the flames, but the damage had already been done.

Chaman suffered extensive burns from his face down to his waist. He was first taken to a local health facility before being referred to Ayodhya Medical College. Given the severity of his injuries, he was later shifted to Lucknow for advanced treatment, where he remains in critical condition.

Family members say the boy was in immense pain when they found him near the tandoor, crying and barely conscious. In his initial statement to relatives, Chaman alleged that the attacker had deliberately poured diesel and set him ablaze.

Police at Chhawani station have confirmed that a case is being registered and teams have been deployed to trace the accused, who fled the scene immediately after the incident. Officials say further action will follow based on the investigation.

The brutality of the act against a child, over food freely available at a public celebration has sent shockwaves through the local community. What stands out starkly is the complete absence of proportion or humanity in the alleged response to a harmless mistake by a young boy.

As Chaman fights for his life in a hospital far from home, the focus now shifts to accountability and whether swift justice will follow in a case that has left a village, and many beyond it, shaken.