Assam doctor couple held for allegedly torturing, abusing adopted 4-year-old
Guwahati: In a horrific child abuse case reported in the city, the Assam police have arrested a doctor couple for allegedly abusing and torturing a 4-year-old girl after being rescued in a state of dehydration with hands tied to a pole on the terrace at their house.
Police on Saturday night arrested a Psychiatrist from Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district a day after her husband, a gastrointestinal and advanced general surgeon, was held from his residence in the capital city of Assam.
“Medico-legal report states that the girl child was sexually assaulted and that there are tell-tale signs that she was tortured. There are several injuries and burn marks on her body, including that in her private parts,” Diganta Barah informed News Live at Pan Bazar police station this evening.
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A case has been registered against the doctor couple at Paltan Bazar police station under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 342 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), reports the HT.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Nandini Kakati said that police received information that a 4-year-old minor girl's hands were tied to a pole on the terrace and police immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the minor girl.
"At first, they (the doctor couple) said that the girl is their own child, but during the investigation, we found that she was not their child and they adopted her. When we rescued the minor girl, we also found several injuries, and burn marks on her body. The minor girl also told us that she was tortured by the couple. During the investigation we have found many other complaints," Nandini Kakati said.
The incident came to light after noted child rights activist Miguel Das Queah who runs an NGO named UTSAH, posted about it on his Facebook page, pleading for police assistance in rescuing the minor girl.
During the interrogation, the doctor confessed that he used to hit the minor with an iron rod and even poured hot water on her body. After the police caught their caretaker, she alleged that the doctor had asked her to punish the kid on the terrace as punishment for the child's disobedience.
Upon rescue, the child was taken to a government shelter in Guwahati, where she was also provided with medical care. Currently, the police are investigating the source from where the child was given to the couple since no valid documents regarding her adoption were found by the police.
It was also reported that the doctor appeared before the court of the Child Protection Commission in 2017 after he was accused of child abuse.
The police official also said that they have arrested the accused couple and a police investigation is on. Further details are awaited.
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