The child had burns on his body
Team comprising members of APSA, Labour Department and police rescued him
BANGALORE, Jan 2 : A five-year-old boy, Simon, from Arunachal Pradesh, was rescued from the house of a relative of Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Assam, at AECS Layout near Parappana Agrahara here on Wednesday.
Simon was rescued by a team comprising members of the Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), the Labour Department and the police. The malnourished child had burns on his chest, neck, back and leg. On Thursday, he was produced before the Child Welfare Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the incident.
The team, which was tipped off that the child was being harassed and made to do housework, went to the residence of the DIG’s daughter, Chika, a multinational company employee. “We went to the house at about 10 a.m. For two hours, the residents refused to let us in though we identified ourselves,” said Susan Thomas of APSA.
Though they initially refused to answer questions about Simon, Chika and her mother gave in after making several calls to Assam. They said the boy was an orphan and had been with them for the past three years. The two, who appeared before the CWC, denied having harassed Simon and making him do housework. The team took the boy to Manipal Hospital for a medical examination on Wednesday night.
A traumatised Simon was not able to properly articulate his suffering. “I have not eaten for several days. Will you give me something to eat?” he asked CWC Chairperson Vasudeva Sharma. The burns appeared to have been caused by cigarette butts and hot objects. The boy, who was sent by the CWC to APSA, told Mr. Sharma that he was being beaten by Chika and made to sleep outside the house.
Later, Chika and her mother retracted their statement that the boy was an orphan. They said that Simon’s mother was alive and that she had given him to them. Chika also said his parents were working on a farm owned by her grandfather.
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