Thodupuzha: Days after the death of a boy who was brutalised by his mother's live-in partner here in Kerala late last month, a doctor who attended to the child revealed the woman and the assailant gave contradictory statements at the hospital. The seven-year-old child died in a hospital in Kolenchery in Kerala's Ernakulam district on Saturday, nine days after being on the ventilator.
"The child was brought to the hospital at 3:55am on March 28. He was unconscious. I was informed at 3:56 and I reached the hospital at 4:05. I moved him into the ventilator right away," said Dr Sheikh Ansari, the emergency specialist, at Chazhikkad Hospital, Thodupuzha.
I asked mother what had happened: ‘Heard a sound, might have fallen from sofa," she said. "Then she was busy talking on phone."
"Arun Anand (the man who attacked the boy and who is now charged with murder) came into the room as the child’s CT scan was being taken. When asked what had happened, he said kids in the neighbourhood had pushed the child.
"Since there were discrepancies in their accounts, I suggested it be considered a medico-legal case and the police alerted. It was evident that the child was attacked.
CT scan revealed bleeding in the brain. The neurosurgeon was called since emergency surgery was required. It looked like neither Arun nor the woman realised the gravity of the child’s injuries," the doctor revealed.
"Arun was drunk. The woman spoke on phone all the while. Surgery was required to save the child’s life. But they refused. This too raised doubts. It looked like Arun and the woman would have left the hospital with the child had the police not arrived on time," Dr Ansari stated.
Argument in ambulance too
Meanwhile, the nurse who was in the ambulance in which the child was taken from Dr Ansari's Thodupuzha hospital to a Kolencheri hospital said Arun was keen on wasting time.
"It looked like Arun was purposefully creating confusion even when an emergency surgery was required. He wasted time unnecessarily. He repeatedly requested to go to Amrita hospital in Kochi. In retrospect, it could have been a ploy to delay medical attention," Albin Thomas, the male nurse said.
"Refusing to get into the ambulance, Arun said he will follow us in car. He was too drunk to even stand properly. The police intervened to get him into ambulance. He then asked the woman to drive the car and argued with the police. The police made the woman sit in front seat of the ambulance without Arun’s knowledge.
"As we reached near Thodupuzha Bridge, Arun asked to stop the ambulance. He wanted to see if the woman was following them in the car. That’s when he saw her sitting in the front seat. He started bickering about that. Then he made her come and sit next to him through the slit inside the vehicle. They did not even bother to attend to the child battling for life," Albin revealed.
The woman was trying to calm down Arun all along. The child was taken to the Kolenchery hospital in 30 minutes.
Mother abused too
Arun physically abused not just the children but their mother too, say police.
A medical examination at Kolenchery hospital revealed marks made by sticks and kicks on her body. Some bruises looked old. She was examined at the Idukki Medical College. A detailed analysis will be done at Kottayam Medical College Hospital.
The police are likely to get Arun in custody in the POCSO case involving the four-year-old younger bother of the deceased child. He is lodged at Muttom District Jail now. Arun requested for a transfer to another jail fearing attack by cellmates.
The younger child and his mother are under the care of Kudumbasree’s ‘Snehitha’ facility in Idukki.
The police are seeking legal advice as to charge the woman for negligence or make her a witness in the murder of the elder child.
The court is yet to register the woman’s confidential statement. No decision has been taken on the child’s grandfather Babu’s request to hand over custody of the four-year old.
Suo motu case
The High Court has sent notices to state government, DGP, Idukki SP and Women and Child Welfare special secretary.
The accused is in remand for murdering the child, the state government responded.
The High Court took up the case suo motu after Justice Devan Ramachandran sent a letter to Chief Justice citing media reports. It deferred the case for four weeks for the accused’s response. The judge stressed the need for preventive measures in his letter.
