Orissa government agencies dealing with   Budhia Singh’s  case are trying to get a new home for the child marathoner in one of the government-run sports hostels in the state, official sources said.
The child prodigy currently lives in Salia Sahi, a Bhubaneswar slum, along with his mother and sisters after his rift with coach Biranchi Das who has been sent to the Jharpada prison here after his bail plea was rejected by a local court on Monday evening.

Physical torture
Das, it may be recalled, was arrested by the Bhubaneswar police on Monday morning after Budhia’s mother Sukanti Singh filed a complaint alleging that her son was being physically tortured by his coach.

“We are trying to put him in a sports hostel so that he can receive his athletic training while continuing his study,” an official in the state’s sports and youth affairs department said.

If sources are to be believed, the government agencies are also trying to get a sponsorship for the child runner from the industrial houses that are setting up steel and other industries in the state.
Road block
However, Budhia’s entry into a government-run sports hostel could face a road block as a government rule states that no student below eight years of age can be admitted into a sports hostel.

But state sports minister, Debasis Nayak has already gone on record saying that rules can be sidelined for Budhia.

The kid marathoner’s actual age has once again became a matter of debate after Budhia’s latest medical examination reportedly suggested that his age could be seven or eight and not six as claimed by his arrested coach.

The police had conducted Budhia’s medical tests in a government-run capital hospital here after his mother’s complaint against coach Das.