A day after TNM exposed how a warning call about suspected abuse of toddler Arshith went unheeded, the Department of Kerala Women and Child Development has removed the staff member at the Thiruvananthapuram District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) helpline, who attended the call.
The action comes after The News Minute accessed and reported on a 16-minute phone conversation in which Arshith’s grandmother Reena repeatedly raised concerns about the child’s safety, weeks before his death. Despite her fears and photographs showing fractures in both his arms, no welfare visit was conducted and no intervention followed.
Read here : Audio reveals grandmother warned child protection office before Kerala toddler Arshith’s death
Speaking to TNM, Director of the Women and Child Development Department V Vigneshwari IAS confirmed that the man who attended Reena’s call was a contract employee of the DCPU and has been dismissed from the post. “We usually provide training to all staff members, including those on contract. We have now also decided to revamp our training programmes. It is extremely unfortunate that this happened,” she said.
The Director also said the department is conducting a thorough enquiry into the matter. “As per the recording, the staff member did not even ask for the child's location or other basic details, which is a grave mistake. When such a call is received, it is essential to gather specific information to locate the child and assess the situation,” she added.
She also said that since the distress call was made to an internal number, it is unclear whether the details were recorded. “Usually, calls made to the 1098 helpline are recorded and the details are logged. But in this case, Ms Reena called a CUG (closed user group) number, which she may have had access to since she was a Nirbhaya volunteer. So I will have to verify whether the call details were logged,” the IAS officer said.
TNM had reported that Reena contacted the DCPU helpline on May 3 after receiving photographs showing her grandson with fractures in both arms. During the call, she repeatedly expressed fears that the child was being abused and referred to threats allegedly made by the child's stepfather, Ashkar.
However, the official who attended the call questioned her suspicions and suggested that she could be “imagining things.” “What exactly is the problem? Are you saying that man harmed the child?” the official had asked Reena with an air of disbelief, referring to Ashkar.
When Reena said she suspected abuse and explained why she feared for the child’s safety, the official responded, “These may just be thoughts in your mind.”
Officials later told TNM they visited the child “after his death.”
Arshith died on May 29 after allegedly enduring prolonged and repeated abuse. Police later documented nearly 100 injuries on his body, including seven fractured ribs, burn marks, and areas of peeled and damaged skin.
Ashkar and the child's mother Akhila have since been arrested in connection with the case. Investigators allege that while Ashkar subjected the child to sustained violence, Akhila was aware of the abuse and failed to intervene.