“He was gasping for breath and was unconscious. He was resuscitated. He had multiple bruises on both lower limbs, a fresh burn on his right foot. The child is in coma, not responding to painful stimuli. He continues to have spontaneous breathing movement. He is on ventilation support,” reads a health bulletin released by the Rajagiri hospital in Kochi, describing the condition of a three-year-old boy from Aluva who is battling for his life in the ICU.
It was not an accidental fall from a staircase, as his parents had first claimed. The police say it is a case of alleged assault against the child by his own mother, Hena. The Kerala police, after hours of interrogating the parents, arrested the boy’s mother on Thursday for attempt to murder.
The Eloor police, which is investigating the case, has booked the Hena under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Hena has been arrested and charged under Section 307 IPC (Attempt to murder) and Section 75 of Juvenile Justice Act (Punishment for cruelty to Child).
“We have also booked her under two more sections after consultation with the doctors, that is, sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means),” said a police official at Eloor police station told TNM.
The parents of the boy are natives of Jharkhand and are currently residing in Kalamassery. The father has been working at a construction site.
According to the hospital authorities, the boy's father told them that the boy fell down from an 8-foot high staircase at their house on Wednesday and fell unconscious immediately. From a local hospital in Aluva, he was referred to Rajagiri Hospital, where he was brought at 1.45 pm. Since the details provided by the father was not consistent with the injuries, the hospital authorities informed the police and Childline.
Once the child was brought, he was evaluated by a team of doctors including a paediatric intensivist, neurosurgeons, a neurologist, and an anaesthetist. When he was first brought to the hospital, he was shifted to the ICU under the supervision of the paediatric intensivist. On further evaluation by a team of multidisciplinary doctors, an emergency craniectomy (a surgery that involves removing a portion of the skull to relieve pressure on the brain) was advised.
“However, the child’s father insisted on taking the child to another hospital. Despite explaining the risks associated with transporting the child, he was reluctant for the surgery. With the intervention of the police and the hospital administration, the father consented for surgery," read the medical report released by the hospital.
Even after a three-hour surgery, the child continues to be on ventilator support, it said.
Kerala Health Minister has announced to bear all expenses for the treatment of the three-year-old, who continues to be in a critical condition. Meanwhile, the police are currently at the spot of the incident and filing the report.
(With inputs from Neethu Joseph)