Run, Budhia. From the police

Coach Biranchi Das has stumbled upon an arrest warrant for the four-year-old prodigy, reports Soumyajit Pattnaik.

Sweating, panting, young Budhia Singh ran 65 km, courted glory, won controversy, saw his name make headlines and heard the general hoopla. What the four-year-old did not know: an arrest warrant had been issued for him by the Child Welfare Committee under the Juvenile Justice Act last month.

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Budhia's coach Biranchi Das stumbled upon the warrant for Budhia on Tuesday while collecting documents to be submitted before the Orissa High Court. The warrant was issued on May 3, a day after Budhia ran the controversial "marathon".

Das told HT: "I'm not worried whether the warrant was executed or is still pending. I'm worried because this arrest warrant will become a permanent blot on Budhia's CV." (A copy of the warrant is with HT.) The directive, which was issued to the Bhubaneswar SP to execute the warrant, says, "This is to authorise and require you for causing arrest of the said child named Budhia Singh…."

The first few paragraphs of the "warrant to bring up child victim" contain allegations against the coach for making the boy run long distance and for usurping money that came in the child's favour.

Since the allegations were against him, Das asked why the arrest warrant was issued for Budhia. The Budhia Singh case will come up for hearing in the high court on June 20 when the legality of the arrest warrant will also be challenged.

Senior officials refused to comment on the warrant, saying the matter was sub judice.