Warangal: Fighting parents desert mentally-challenged son
Mother refuses to take custody, says father must care for 11-year-old.
Warangal: The parents of a mentally-challenged boy left him outside their house in Bommalagudi in Warangal after a family brawl on Saturday. As the parents refused to answer calls, cops called up the Child Line as also the district child welfare committee and shifted Cherry, the 11-year-old, to an orphanage in Kazipet.
The neighbours said the parents were fighting frequently over the past few days. The boy’s father Ravi Kumar is a government school teacher and mother Roopa a house maker. They frequently fought over financial issues. Roopa recently filed a harassment case against her husband and in-laws at the police station.
Following this, Ravi Kumar left the house four days back along with his parents. With the fight escalating, Roopa left their son outside the house and left.
On Saturday night, Roopa asked the neighbours to look after Cherry while she went out, saying she would return in half an hour.
The neighbours waited for a long time but she didn’t return. They tried calling on her mobile but it didn’t help.
They took the boy inside their house and let him sleep during the night. On Sunday, the police was informed about the incident by local NGOs.
Repeated calls to the father and mother turned futile. Even though the mother answered one call, she refused to take possession of her son and said the father must take care of him.
Warangal ACP Chaitanya Kumar arrived at the house and spoke to the neighbours and the child. “Since the parents have abandoned the child, we decided to put him under the care of the child welfare committee until they return,” he said.
CWC chairperson Anitha Reddy admitted the boy at an orphan home in Kazipet. Moved by the plight of the boy, Kunooru Shekar Goud of Spoorthi Foundation, an NGO, and other members gave the boy a bath and got him new clothes.