STRANGE: 3-Month-Old Baby Burst Into Flames 4 Times (Pictures)

Like many mothers, Rajeshwari Karnan was delighted when she gave birth to a son. The 23-year-old farm labourer and her husband, Karnan Perumal, 26, already had a two-year-old daughter, but like many in the state of Tamil Nadu, they considered a boy a particular blessing.
So when Rahul arrived in May, they were especially delighted. However, just over a week later, their joy turned to misery.
 

But it has done — three more times, according to the couple. The last incident took place one afternoon last month, with their little boy suffering first and second-degree burns. As a result, the family have now been forced to move from their village, due to their neighbours’ fears that the baby could cause a serious fire.

This month, the couple took the child to be examined at a hospital in the city of Chennai, where the doctors are equally baffled.

Foul play appears to have been ruled out, with Karnan Perumal saying that he and his wife would never be ‘crazy [enough] to burn our own baby’. 

Some people are saying the flames must be the work of a deity, while others suspect the use of combustible phosphorous in the  materials used to build the couple’s home.

 

But it has done — three more times, according to the couple. The last incident took place one afternoon last month, with their little boy suffering first and second-degree burns. As a result, the family have now been forced to move from their village, due to their neighbours’ fears that the baby could cause a serious fire.

This month, the couple took the child to be examined at a hospital in the city of Chennai, where the doctors are equally baffled.

Foul play appears to have been ruled out, with Karnan Perumal saying that he and his wife would never be ‘crazy [enough] to burn our own baby’. 

Some people are saying the flames must be the work of a deity, while others suspect the use of combustible phosphorous in the  materials used to build the couple’s home.

But the doctors are now considering whether baby Rahul is a victim of one of the strangest and most mysterious of phenomena said to affect the body — spontaneous human combustion.

‘We are in a dilemma and haven’t come to any conclusion,’ says Dr Narayan Babu. ‘The parents have held that the baby burned instantaneously without any provocation. We are carrying out numerous tests. We are not saying it is SHC (spontaneous human combustion) until all the investigations  are complete.’

Is it really possible for a baby to burst suddenly into flames? And if so, how on earth does it happen — and could other infants elsewhere in the world fall victim to the same extraordinary circumstances?