Twelve-year-old boy branded as ‘Devil’ for having ‘big hands’

Lucknow [India] August 11 : Tarik, a 12-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh has been suffering from a mysterious condition of 'big hands' since birth, that made the village folks term him a 'Devil.' Tarik works on a tea stall and lives with his older brother.

According to his aunt Pushpa, his hands were always big, and "as he started growing, his hands got bigger" too.

Now, as long as 12 inches, his hands have prevented him from doing even the simple tasks. His daily needs like bathing, dressing, and eating are taken care of by his older brother, Hargyan. "When his father was alive he took him to the local doctors a lot. But his father passed away and he only has his mother now, so he can't get any treatment", added the aunt.

His neighbours, believing, it to be a curse, have labelled him as a "Devil". The boy has also been a target of bullying. "They don't know it's a medical condition and it can be cured," said Tarik, adding that his family's lack of money "doesn't mean it can't be cured".

Tarik wanted to study, but was refused admission by school authorities. His brother said, "The school authorities said they could not take Tarik as his huge hands will scare other kids.

He was denied admission in almost every school." Multiple appointments with local doctors haven't made a difference yet.

Dr Pawan Kumar Gandhi said, "Tarik's problem is actually a mystery to us. We've never seen a patient with this before. I have seen a few similar cases but they had Elephant Foot disease, his condition seems to be similar to that." Hargyan expressed his disappointment over local doctors having no sophisticated equipment, and the lack of money for a good hospital, "Every single doctor suggested to get Tarik a proper treatment.

But for us there is no way. He has to stay like this till we have some money for the treatment." While the 12-year old hopes for a better treatment, his tragic tale has caught the eye of many international media houses including DailyMotion, Mirror, and MSN, who recently covered his story.

Source: ANI