Hyderabad: An 11-year-old girl who had allegedly been tortured and pushed into child labour by her mother and her stepfather approached the S.R. Nagar Police Station seeking strict action against her parents.
The girl, N. Rani, sustained a serious injury below her right eye when her mother hit her with an iron object. The S.R. Nagar Police have booked a case against the girl’s parents and are looking into the matter.
According to Rani, her mother Pushpa married a man named Anki Reddy, after which they moved from Rajahmundry to Hyderabad. Rani was forced to drop out of school and work alongside her mother. Rani alleged that her mother made her work so that she could earn some extra money.
Rani’s mother bore two children with Reddy. After the birth of the children, Rani faced more harassment than before. “They both scold me and beat me often. They make me work outside, at an Internet centre, and they take away the money I get from there,” Rani said. In a recent incident, Rani was violently assaulted by her mother. “She beat me up with an iron object yesterday, saying I was not doing my job properly. Since there was nobody to help me, I went to the police station for help,” she said.
Despite seeing the child’s condition, the police took over a day to book a case. They said that a thorough inquiry had to be carried out with the mother and the child. Rani was not given any medical assistance. Though her face was swollen and bruised, the police did not take her to a hospital. Md. Waheeduddin, the Inspector of S.R. Nagar Police Station, said, “I tried to hand her over to the Childline officials so that she could get some help. But she refused to go with them. We have booked a case and launched an investigation into the matter.”
Meanwhile, child rights activists alleged that the cops were trying to compromise the case by calling the girl’s parents. Activist Achyuth Rao said, “It is a cognizable offence. How can the cops just compromise the case?”
