A 12-year-old boy, who was forced to collect scattered remains of a man run over by a train, has lost his mental balance, police said here on Saturday.
On Monday, Firoz, a ragpicker, was forced by the government railway police (GRP) to collect body parts of a man who had put his head under a moving train at Indore railway station.
When the boy resisted, a constable promised to pay him Rs.100.
Firoz collected and packed the severed parts, including the head, which were then hauled in a pushcart and taken away from the station in full public view.
The boy was taken to the city's MGM hospital after his behaviour became erratic. Doctors treating him said the boy may have been scarred for life because of the incident.
MGM Medical College psychiatry department head Ramghulam Razdan said the incident has either led to a permanent phobic reaction or he has developed a psychotic behaviour.
GRP Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kushwah admitted that the child showed erratic behaviour after he was brought before authorities and sent for a mental examination.
Five personnel have been transferred and one head constable has been suspended after the incident.