A case of severe child abuse has emerged in Kottarakkara in Kollam district, where a seven-year-old child was repeatedly beaten by his father and step-mother so severely that his hearing has been damaged in the right ear.
The child, who has been admitted to the Kottarakkara Taluk hospital, told the doctors that his parents used to hit him frequently for no reason. However, a police official said, they have not yet been to ascertain the full extent of his ill-treatment as the boy has been withdrawn and refuses to speak more to anyone.
An officer from the Kottarakkara police station told The News Minute that the boy’s father, Tulasi, has been taken into custody for the ill-treatment meted out to the boy.
“The boy’s mother had died few years ago. He was living with his step-mother and father. Tulasi is a drunkard and the step-mother is mentally unstable. Now the boy is under the protection of ChildLine. We will file the FIR in the case after a full enquiry,” Kottarakkara Sub Inspector Mahesh told The News Minute.
Mahesh added that the boy was rescued from his parents after neighbours saw them beating him severely, and took him to the hospital.
Even after the boy was admitted in the hospital, he said, Tulasi once again tried to assault him there. Accompanied by another man, both allegedly drunk, Tulasi created a ruckus in the hospital and tried to push and beat the child there too. “The other man with Tulasi is absconding,” the officer said.