Watchdog orders probe into 'explotation' of boy runner

India’s human rights watchdog agency has ordered a state government to investigate whether a four-year-old boy who ran a 40-mile marathon had been exploited by his sports coach and other officials.

Police and state welfare authorities in eastern Orissa took Budhia Singh for medical tests on Friday, but the results on his health have not yet been released.

Budhia had planned to run 43 miles on Tuesday, but doctors stopped him when he showed signs of extreme exhaustion after running for more than seven hours in Orissa’s hot, humid climate.

Budhia, a slum resident who has been dubbed India’s Forrest Gump, was discovered two years ago by sports coach Biranchi Das, who has often been accused of exploiting the boy’s athletic talent by forcing him to run long distances for publicity.

After receiving complaints from civic groups this week, India’s National Human Rights Commission ordered the Orissa government to conduct a health check on the boy and investigate those who organised the run.

In a statement, the commission said that “if the contents of various reports are true, it raises the serious issue of violation of the human rights of the child”, Press Trust of India reported.

The commission received complaints about Das and 50 paramilitary soldiers who accompanied the boy during the run, which had been meant to secure him a place in an Indian book of records as the youngest person to run that distance.

Budhia’s father has died. His mother, unable to support him, was about to sell him to a villager before Das learned of him.