Hurting an innocent child has to be one of the evilest things a person can do. While child abuse has been around for years, it’s only now, with the help of social media that more cases are brought out into the open. Last evening, a story was posted on a popular social media forum. It went viral within a few minutes of being posted and now everyone is asking how safe are our children when left in the care of others. According to the story, which has also been reported by the local newspapers, a 9-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted by a daycare owner while under her watch. This is yet another story of child abuse from the port town of Vasco.
Daycare owner allegedly burns 9-year-old in her care
The news report says that the 9-year-old was left in the care of a woman running a daycare center in Chicalim, Vasco. The caretaker is believed to have allegedly assaulted him with a heated kitchen utensil, leaving him with burn injuries on his arms.
The incident is believed to have happened days ago. However, the parents only just came to know about it and filed a complaint with the police. According to the complaint lodged, Vasco police registered a case against the owner of the daycare center, Avni alias Renu Halpati. The daycare center, Myra, is based at Chicalim and looks after 15 children.
“We saw some burn injuries on both hands of my son. We tried to find out the facts but he hesitated to provide any specific information due to a threat given by the proprietor of the day care center,” says the boy’s mother, speaking to the media on Tuesday at the Vasco police station.
The story unfolds
The boy’s parents both work. The mother is a hospital employee and the father is a teacher in Porvorim. The boy spent a lot of time at the daycare center due to this. “During school days, the boy would be kept there for half day, and on holidays, he was kept there for the entire day,” said police. On May 31, when the parents noticed the burn injuries on his hands, the boy blamed a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy for it.
Later, the boy revealed that it was Halpati who had punished him for naughtiness. Besides the burns, Halpati is also believed to have threatened the boy with more dire consequences if he told anyone what had happened. The police also say that that initially, both parties attempted to settle the incident without involving the authorities. Halpati requested the parents not to go to the police as she too has a child.
The parents chose to go ahead and lodge a complaint but were unhappy with how the police handled the situation. They told TOI, “We are very unhappy over how the police have reacted. They not only delayed in registering the case but also delayed her arrest, giving her time to move for anticipatory bail.” PI Nolasco Raposo denied the allegation. The offense has been registered under Section 324 of IPC and 8 of Goa Children’s Act.
The police are also verifying whether the owner of the daycare center possesses any legal permission from competent authorities to run the center.
Information credit – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/9-year-old-boy-suffers-burns-after-assault-by-caretaker/articleshow/64565275.cms
Note: Cover image is for representation only and in no way linked to the actual persons spoken about in the article.
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