Kasaragod: A 21-year-old restaurant worker suffered severe burns after a co-worker allegedly pushed him into a vessel of boiling oil at a restaurant at Ashwini Nagar near Karandakkad in Kasaragod town.

The injured, Akash Singh, a native of Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh, was working at Arya Bhavan Hotel. He has been admitted to a hospital in Mangaluru and is in a critical condition.

Kasaragod Town Police have registered a case against his colleague, Chandan Kumar of Ramgarh in Jharkhand. He also sustained burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at the General Hospital under police watch.

Police said the two were talking in the kitchen when, in the course of the exchange, Chandan Kumar allegedly grabbed and pushed Akash Singh, causing him to fall into the container of boiling oil.