Even as members of the public are recovering from the shock of a new-born being brutally assaulted by her father at Angamaly and needing surgery to recover from brain injury, a similar incident involving an eight-month-old child was reported from Thiruvankulam, near Thripunithura on Friday.
An incident in which the child had a providential escape after being thrown by her father, came to light after her mother complained to the Ernakulam District Child Welfare Council (CWC). The father was reportedly in the habit of assaulting the child. The council, in turn, reported the matter to the Thripunithura police. “The father, a resident of Keshavan Padi, Tiruvankulam, has been arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act. The infant’s life could have been endangered but for her mother managing to catch the child when he threw her. The child was taken to hospital for medical check-up and later taken home,” the police sources said.
The father who was under the influence of alcohol, allegedly behaved in a very rude manner to CWC officials, Anganwadi teacher, ASHA worker and people’s representatives who visited the house to enquire about the incident. It came as a shock since the infant from Angamaly who used to be assaulted by her father and was similarly thrown against a wall, has not been discharged from hospital, where she was admitted a month ago in a critical condition, said Sunil Hareendran, CWC secretary, who led the team which visited the house.
“We were amazed that the mother of the child from Tiruvankulam was initially reluctant to speak about frequent assaults on the child by the father. She opened up only after the father was arrested by the police. The team assured all help medical help to her. Family members, neighbours and other members of the society must be vigilant about such incidents. Societal conscience must arise against this trend. Family members and others who ill treat children are a shame on society,” the CWC members said.