Diwali had started off with fun and games but soon turned into a painful nightmare for two thirsty kids who went in search of water but instead chanced upon a tank of a highly corrosive chemical, carelessly left outside a textile mill in Dombivli. The younger child — an 11-year-old — sustained severe burns to his eyes and lips from the fumes, as he opened the tap for a sip of what he thought was water.

It was 11-year-old Prakash Verma whose eyes and lips were severely scalded by the fumes as he opened the tap.