CHENNAI: Indian police are hunting for a 15-year-old boy accused of illegally performing a Caesarean operation because his doctor parents wanted to set a record, an officer said on Wednesday.

The parents, from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, were arrested this week after an inquiry found them guilty of medical malpractice for allowing the boy to carry out the surgery in order to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Authorities launched an investigation after the parents screened a video of the surgery to other doctors, claiming their son as the world's youngest surgeon.

The operation on the 20-year-old woman was successful and the baby was born healthy.

Police officer Rajasekharan said the couple would also be tried for cheating because they were believed to have obtained the patient's consent by telling her she would be operated on by a surgeon.

The couple have been remanded in judicial custody for 15 days. If found guilty, they could be jailed for up to 10 years.--

However, the boy, if convicted, would be sent to a juvenile home, or correction centre, the officer said, as no one under 18 could be sent to an adult jail.—Reuters