Mangaluru : The 14-year-old boy, who was allegedly assaulted by a driver-cum-cook at a hostel in the city on Monday, started crying as the Chairperson of Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights Kripla Alva was leaving the child care centre in Gurupura, after hearing him for nearly 30 minutes on Thursday.

The boy wanted Ms. Alva to send him back to the hostel in the city where he suffered burns on the neck after the cook allegedly placed a hot ladle on him.

The boy has been in the child care centre since last three days.

Seeing him crying, the boy’s hostel mate, with whom the former had a fight that led the driver-cum-cook to allegedly place the ladle, who is also in the same child care centre, also started to cry. The two pleaded Ms. Alva to send them back to the hostel and be with their friends.

“I am missing my friends. I am not comfortable here,” the 14-year-old boy told Ms. Alva. She consoled the two boys and said they need to be in the childcare centre for few more days.

Ms. Alva on Thursday went with officials from Women and Child Welfare Department to meet the injured boy and his hostel mate lodged in the childcare centre in Gurupura.

The two boys narrated to Ms. Alva the whole sequence of events. “The injured boy did not have any grouse against the person who allegedly placed the hot ladle,” Ms. Alva told  after her interaction with the two boys.

During the interaction, the injured boy expressed his dream of becoming an engineer, while the other boy said that he wanted to become a chartered accountant, Ms. Alva said.

Meanwhile, the Mangaluru East police, who have registered a complaint of assault, said they are yet to record a further statement of the boy regarding the incident. Child Welfare Committee Chairman K. Nikesh Shetty has asked the hostel management to keep the accused driver-cum-cook under suspension till the inquiry into the incident was over.