Kattappana: Yet another horrifying case of a child being tortured at the hands of her mother's male friend has been reported from Kerala.
An eight-year-old girl from Kattappana in Idukki district was assaulted by one Anish, a resident of Upputhara, who has now been arrested.
The child's paternal aunt had complained to the police about the assault.
The victim, eldest of her mother's three girl children, has been moved to her paternal house. Her other two siblings aged five and two are with the mother.
The 34-year-old accused, who has been remanded in custody for 14 days, is currently lodged at the Peermade sub-jail.
The police stated a case would be filed against the mother too for failing to prevent the assault and informing the authorities.
The woman moved into a rented house at Upputhara along with her three children after her husband was bedridden following paralysis.
Anish, who has also been living apart from his wife for more than a year, had been looking after the woman's family.
This didn’t go well with the husband’s family and they often quarrelled with the woman, the police said.
The eldest child, who also detested Anish's frequent visits, had said she would inform her father about this.
Provoked by the little girl's attitude, Anish picked up a stick and brutally thrashed the child, the complaint said. Earlier too, Anish had assaulted the child, according to the complaint.
Recent crimes on children
A seven-year-old boy died early last month after suffering grievous injuries at the hands of her mother’s paramour in Thodupuzha. Both the woman and her partner have been arrested.
Weeks later, a three-year-old boy, who was beaten up in a similar fashion by his mother died at ba hospital in Aluva. He was admitted with severe head injuries allegedly inflicted by his mother for being 'disobedient'. The woman, who hails from Jharkhand, was charged with murder (IPC Section 302).
Late last month another young mother was arrested by the Pattanakad Police in Alappuzha district over the alleged murder of her 15-month-old girl child. She had admitted to cops she did the crime as the baby had disturbed her sleep.
Last year, 30-year-old woman named Soumya, who was accused of poisoning her nine-year-old daughter and aged parents, hanged herself on the premises of a jail In Kannur. In her statement to the police, Soumya said she had killed her daughter after the latter came to know of her illicit affairs.
