Rasananda Patra, the father. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 22: A drunk father burnt alive his five-year-old son in Keonjhar on Friday evening after the child refused to his orders and attend to his studies.

The accused, Rasananda Patra (38), was arrested immediately after the incident that had taken place at Sadu Singh Hating under Barbil police station area of the district. The boy, Narendra Patra, was rushed to the Barbil hospital where he was declared dead. Narendra was the second son of the accused.

Police said on Friday evening, Patra flew into a rage when he had returned home from work to find his two sons, Narendra (5) and Balabhdra (9), playing instead of studying. Patra, who was drunk, scolded both the boys and asked them to concentrate on their studies.

But instead of paying heed to his words, the boys started arguing with him. Enraged Patra lost his cool and slapped them. While the punishment silenced Balabhadra, Narendra continued to argue. Pratima, Narendra’s mother, was not at home during that time.

Patra first threatened him with dire consequences. Then he poured kerosene over both Narendra and Balabhadra. While Balabhadra kept quiet out of fear, Narendra continued to argue with his father.

Seething with anger, Rasananda took out a matchbox and threatened to set the boy alight, but the latter continued to look him in the eye. On an impulse the father threw the burning matchstick on Narendra who was wearing a pullover, which caught fire immediately. Though the father was jolted back to his senses seeing his son in flames and tried hard to put out the flames the boy had been seriously burnt by that time.

By that time, Pratima was back home and tried her best to save the boy by pouring buckets of water over him, but Narendra collapsed at the spot. The couple immediately rushed the boy to the local hospital where he was declared brought dead.

“Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that my son would die in my hands. It was not my intention to kill Naru,” said Patra.

Police inspector Krushna Chandra Parida said: “Though the man did not kill his son intentionally, he must be held responsible. We have lodged a case under Section 304 of the IPC and sent him to jail. He was drunk when the incident took place.”