A seven-year-old boy from India who told police about his father’s illegal gambling activity has been getting some serious mixed messages.
According to a recent report by the Hindustan Times, seven-year-old Amir Shoalb had grown weary of his father’s fondness for gambling and drinking alcohol. Apparently Amir’s complaints weren’t getting the desired response from dear old dad, so the boy decided to take his grievances up the chain of command.
On Jan. 3, Amir wandered over to the local police station in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and asked to see the officer in charge. Local cop Kishore Patanwala told the Times how the boy informed him of the father’s daily gambling and drinking sessions and of Amir’s inability to convince his father to stop having fun. Amir “wanted his father to be arrested to he told me about the spot where [his father] was playing at the time.”
Suitably intrigued, Patanwala sent a squad down to investigate, where he discovered the boy’s father Khan and several others behaving as the boy described, so the officers arrested the lot for illegal gambling.
Patanwala said that after Khan’s wife Zahida learned of her husband’s arrest and her son’s initiative, she gave Amir a sound thrashing. However, when the police gave Amir a Rs 1k (US $15) reward for his timely tipoff, “this made [Amir’s] parents proud..” (And Amir thoroughly confused, no doubt.)
And before you cynics start thinking Khan’s real joy came when he took the tyke’s reward and blew it on booze and dice, the incident has reportedly inspired dear old dad to give up both the bottle and the gamble.
Gambling is largely illegal in India, with casinos permitted in just three states. The country has been urged to authorize betting on cricket but resistance to change is strong among the country’s politicians.
