The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the bail pleas of Ramesh and Syamala, the parents of Pratyusha, a 19-year-old torture victim who was rescued from her house in July this year.
Pratyusha was rescued by police and child rights activists from the clutches of her stepmother Shyamala and father Ramesh, a telecom employee.
The girl complained that she was tortured for several months. She had over a 100 injuries including cuts, burns and bruises all over her body. Ramesh had separated from Pratyusha's mother when she was five years old and her mother died a few years ago.
As Pratyusha's deceased mother had a flat and had transferred it to her, Ramesh and Shyamla were allegedly torturing her with an eye on the property.
According to the Times of India, the couple's counsel claimed that the chargesheet was filed, and hence bail could be granted, while Telangana's additional public prosecutor said "The parents only showed their cruel side by forcing the girl to consume acid and beating her with electric wires. If such people come out on bail, they will certainly threaten the witnesses."
Agreeing with the public prosecutor, the court refused to grant bail to the couple.
The case had garnered widespread attention as the Hyderabad High Court's acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale took suo moto note of the case, and several NGOs had come forward to adopt her
Pratyusha was even paid a visit by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who invited her over to his house for a few days and even promised to take care of her education.