Members of an organisation noticed burn injuries on Vasantha’s cheeks when she was walking on the road and informed the Child Line.
On Thursday morning members of Child Line reached the area to gather information. They then informed the police and took the girl and her mother to the police station where Ms Bangari confessed that she had burnt the cheeks of her daughter.
“I punished my daughter in an emotional state and have now realized my mistake. I will groom my daughters with love and care and will never commit such mistakes in my life,” said a penitent Bangari.
When asked about the incident, Vasantha said, “Actually my sister Devaki had taken the money and spent Rs 5 on biscuits and kept the remaining Rs 5 in my books. But my mother suspected that I had stolen the money and burnt my cheeks with a hot metal. Even though I told her that I was innocent, she punished me and warned me not to tell anyone.”
City Coordinator of Child Line T. Rajasekhar said, “When I interacted with Bangari, she threatened that she would commit suicide if we brought the matter to the notice of the police. But we decided to go ahead as Bangari might punish her daughter in future too. We can’t remain silent when parents violate children’s rights and punish them in an inhuman manner.”
One Town inspector Illiyas Mohamoud said that Vasantha would be counselled to get back to normalcy and she would be under the care of her grandmother.
A few months back a Sanskrit scholar P. Aswan Kumar had burnt the hands of seven-year-old A. Sridevi for stealing Rs 2 from the Siddeshwara Swami temple’s offering plate.