A five-year-old boy, Shafeeq, has been admitted in a serious condition to a private hospital here after being tortured allegedly by his father and stepmother.
The boy’s father Sherif and his stepmother Aneesha are in police custody. The boy had wounds all over his body, including burns, and is on ventilator support, hospital authorities said.
The parents brought the boy in an unconscious state to the hospital on Monday afternoon and told the hospital authorities that he suffered injuries after a fall.
However, doctors on examining the wounds found many burns and it was found that the boy had been severely tortured for quite a few months. On repeated questions, the parents gave contradictory statements. The hospital authorities informed the police and the Childline.
The Kumily police said the boy was living along with his parents at Onnam Mile near Kumily after the family shifted from Chenkara, also near Kumily, two months ago.
On questioning the parents confessed to torturing him, the police said. The police said an inquiry was on to find how the boy suffered such injuries, including head injuries.
Sherif had remarried Aneesha after Shafeeq’s mother died nearly four years ago, the police said. The relatives of Sherif told the police that Aneesha had physically tortured the boy.
The hospital authorities said the boy had a fractured leg after being allegedly beaten up with a stump.
Chandy seeks report
Special Correspondent writes from Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has called for an urgent report on the hospitalisation of a five-year-old child following alleged torture by his parents. The report will be placed before the Cabinet on Wednesday for decisions. An urgent conference was called by the Chief Minister to discuss the issue on Tuesday. Minister for Social Welfare M.K. Muneer and Additional Chief Secretary K.M. Abraham attended the meeting.
