Nine-year-old dies after consuming alcohol in Kerala

A nine-year-old boy died after consuming excess alcohol at Pathanapuram in Kollam district on Sunday.

The police said Lijin, a class three student of a public school, had consumed alcohol that was stored at home by his father, Laji Thomas. Lijin’s parents and his elder brother, who were out on Sunday evening, returned home to find the boy in an exhausted and unstable condition. They gave the boy a bath who after signs of brief recovery, collapsed. Lijin was admitted to a private clinic at Pathanapuram. His condition worsened and he died around midnight.

 Laji told the police that the alcohol was gifted by a friend and he had kept it at home for months. Kunnicode police have registered a case of unnatural death.

Police sources said possibilities of charges against the father were also being explored. “For now, the case is one of unnatural death. We’ll take the case forward after having a closer look at the post-mortem report,” a police official in Kunnicode told Deccan Herald.

Preliminary reports quoted Laji Thomas as saying that the boy consumed about 300 ml of alcohol. Police, however, said there was no confirmation.

“An empty one-litre rum bottle was found at the boy’s home. The family has told us that some of the alcohol had already been consumed but we have to wait for more reports before making a statement,” the official said.