The tragic case of three-month-old Neha Afreen who was found badly battered and abused by her father, shocked the city. But it was sadly not a one-off. A five-year-old child was brought to Vani Vilas Hospital by his maternal uncle and other relatives about a month ago with a fractured left arm, head injury and several other marks of assault all over his body allegedly inflicted by his father.
Fortunately, little Santosh is recovering well, unlike Neha who died of her cruelly inflicted injuries. A few days ago, his aunt brought him to the hospital for a check up and his wounds are healing, said Dr R. Premlatha, in charge of the paediatric ICU at Vani Vilas.
“It is sad that such inhuman cruelty goes unrecorded. Awareness about such cases needs to be generated among the common mass, especially people in the lower economic strata. After we counselled them the maternal uncle, aunt and grandparents went to the Child Welfare Commission,” Dr Premlatha said. Santosh was the second child of Rajashekhar, a resident of Chandra Layout. His wife had left him some years ago unable to take the abuses of her alcoholic husband. She was living with her parents at Peenya 2nd Stage along with the two children and was working as a domestic maid. Santosh was attending a nearby school.
Rajashekhar, however, took Santosh away directly from school 20 days prior to his being admitted to the hospital.The child was initially admitted to the orthopaedic department at Victoria Hospital for a fracture of his left arm and later transferred to Vani Vilas. According to the hospital record, the five-year-old told hospital authorities that his father used to beat him every day with a stick, brick, or his hands, after getting drunk.
Dr Premlatha told Deccan Chronicle about the extensive violence visited on the child. “When we did a thorough check up we found it to be a battered baby syndrome. Santosh had multiple abrasions over his forehead, nose, right cheek, chest, right shoulder and his back. His right toe nail had come out. He was also hit against the wall and that is how he sustained the injury at the back of his head and it was swelling. We sent him for a CT scan at NIMHANS which showed that there was a collection of blood on his skull bone."
After counselling from doctors at the hospital, the mother's sister and her husband took the case to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and filed a complaint with the Chandra Layout police. The CWC conducted an inquiry and Santosh was handed over to his maternal aunt and uncle.