In an interesting turn of events, Orissa’s kid marathoner Budhia Singh and his mother Sukanti Singh on Sunday evening charged his coach-cum-mentor Biranchi Das of physically torturing the child prodigy.

“He was beating me up, pouring hot water on me and once tied me up on a ceiling fan. I have been repeatedly tortured by Sir,” Budhia, flanked by his mother, said of his coach Das.

The marathoner who created a sensation last year by running 60 km from Puri to Bhubaneswar, thus registering his name in the Limca Book of World Records, has already left his mentor’s home where he had been residing for the past few years and is currently staying with his mother in Salia Sahi, a slum area in the Orissa capital.

His mother Sukanti Singh said she would not allow her son to stay with Biranchi Das anymore.

Though the exact cause of the rift could not be ascertained immediately, the donations that the child marathoner received from across the country could be one of the reasons.

Budhia’s mother said though Biranchi had collected lakhs of rupees using Budhia’s name, she was given nothing.
“The total amount I have received from him would be less than Rs 5,000,” she said.