FIR filed after nearly 3 months: Promised edu, 12-yr-old forced into labour, dies after falling into boiling milk in Meerut
Shobha Devi, the boy’s mother and a resident of Sitapur Road, stated in the FIR that she had sent her son, Shubham Kumar, with Rahul, an acquaintance of her niece, in October 2024. “Rahul had assured us that my son would be admitted to Sant Baba Rampal’s ashram for education. However, instead of enrolling him in school, Rahul allegedly made him work at the hotel in Meerut,” Shobha claimed.
A 12-year-old boy from Lucknow, who was sent to Meerut with the promise of education, was instead forced into child labour at a hotel, where he tragically died after falling into a pan of boiling milk. Nearly three months after the incident, Lucknow’s Madyeganj Police registered an FIR on Tuesday following a court directive.
The boy’s family claimed that the hotel operator forced him into child labour and, after the accident, sent him back to Lucknow in critical condition instead of providing proper medical care. The child succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the trauma centre, King George’s Medical University (KGMU). When their pleas were ignored by police in both Meerut and Lucknow, the family approached the court for justice.
According to the FIR, a case has been filed under sections 143(4) (human trafficking), 146 (illegally forcing work), and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the IPC, along with sections 3 and 14 of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. The accused include Vinod Yadav, owner of Hotel Chandravanshi Sweets and Vinod Dairy, Rohan Yadav, the hotel manager, and a worker named Rahul.
Shobha Devi, the boy’s mother and a resident of Sitapur Road, stated in the FIR that she had sent her son, Shubham Kumar, with Rahul, an acquaintance of her niece, in October 2024. “Rahul had assured us that my son would be admitted to Sant Baba Rampal’s ashram for education. However, instead of enrolling him in school, Rahul allegedly made him work at the hotel in Meerut,” Shobha claimed.
On November 4, they were informed that Shubham had fallen into a pan of boiling milk on November 1 and was undergoing treatment. When they reached the hotel, they found him in critical condition, lying on a cot without proper medical attention. The hotel owner allegedly arranged for a car and sent the boy back to Lucknow the next day.
The family admitted the boy to the Civil Hospital on November 7. When his condition did not improve, he was shifted to the KGMU on November 12, where he died on November 16.
Shobha Devi accused the hotel owner, his son, and Rahul of pushing her child into forced labour, leading to his tragic death. She also alleged that despite multiple complaints to Meerut and Lucknow police, no action was taken until the court’s intervention.
