Kerala police arrest mother on charge of beating child
Agencies
3-year-old was admitted to hospital with head injuries
Kochi,19 Apr: The Eloor police have arrested the mother of a three-year-old boy who was admitted to a private hospital near Aluva on Wednesday with serious head injuries.
The boy is suspected to have been tortured physically by his mother, Hena, 28, from Jharkhand.
The boy’s father, Shahajad Khan from West Bengal, is under police scrutiny.
Mother’s confession
The police said the mother on Thursday admitted to beating the child though she had earlier maintained that the boy had gotten injured while playing. A police officer said the investigators had not physically verified the injuries as the boy continued to be in a critical condition. A medical bulletin from the hospital said on Wednesday, “The child is comatose, without any response to painful stimulus. His pupils are dilated and non-reacting. He continues to have spontaneous breathing movements and is on ventilator support.”
The initial physical examination showed that the boy had bleeding in the brain. A doctor attending to him said clots had been removed through surgery.
The bulletin said he was brought in an unconscious condition on Wednesday with his father claiming that the boy fell from a height of eight feet while playing. He was taken to a local hospital from where he was referred to the hospital near Aluva.
Physical examination showed that the boy had sustained multiple bruises on both lower limbs, fresh burns on his right sole, and old burns on buttocks.
The boy’s father initially did not consent to surgery on the child but relented upon police intervention.
Govt.’s offer
A press release from the office of Health Minister K.K. Shylaja said the Health and Social Welfare Departments would bear the cost of the child’s treatment.
The mother has been held under charges ranging from attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt and relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, the Eloor police said.
A team of government doctors has reached the hospital to monitor the child’s condition.