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Human rights watchdog agency of India ordered investigation over four-year-old boy who ran a 65-kilometer (40-mile) marathon
India's human rights watchdog agency has ordered a state government to investigate whether a four-year-old boy who ran a 65-kilometer (40-mile) marathon had been exploited by his sports coach and other officials.
Police and state welfare authorities in eastern Orissa took Budhia Singh for medical tests Friday, but the results on his health were not immediately available, Press Trust of India reported.
Budhia had planned to run 70 kilometers (43 miles) Tuesday, but doctors stopped him after 65 kilometers when he showed signs of extreme exhaustion after running for more than seven hours in Orissa's hot, humid climate.
Budhia, a slum resident who has been dubbed India's Forrest Gump, was discovered two years ago by sports coach Biranchi Das, who has often been accused of exploiting the boy's athletic talent by forcing him to run long distances for publicity.
After receiving complaints from civic groups this week, India's National Human Rights Commission ordered the Orissa government to conduct a health check on the boy and investigate those who organized the run.
In a statement, the commission said that "if the contents of various reports are true, it raises the serious issue of violation of the human rights of the child," Press Trust of India reported.
The commission received complaints about Das and 50 paramilitary soldiers who accompanied the boy during the run, which had been meant to secure him a place in an Indian book of records as the youngest person to run that distance.
Budhia's father has died. His mother, unable to support him, was about to sell him to a villager before Das learned of him.
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