The Chunabhatti police on Tuesday booked a 49-year-old woman for allegedly forcing her 12-year-old son to do household chores and torturing him when he refused to do so. The police said that the victim was subjected to abuse for at least the past two years.
The accused has been identified as Shivani Shinde, a resident of the Swadeshi Mills compound. The police said that the matter came to light when Mona Kate, an activist with NGO Pratham, approached them. Ms. Kate said, “I was informed in October last year that a couple staying in Chunabhatti had employed a child labourer in their house. On verifying the matter, I found out that the boy was the couple’s son. I then visited the Shinde household and asked his mother to appear before the Child Welfare Committee in December last year,” The victim, Shivendra, told Ms. Kate when she visited his house that Shivani would inflict burns injuries and set her dog on him whenever he refused to do housework.
The CWC heard the matter and directed Ms. Kate to file an FIR. Shahaji Umap, DCP, Zone VI, said, “An FIR has been filed under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2016. Further inquiries are under way.”
