Kottayam: The seven-year-old child, who was under treatment at the Kolenchery medical college hospital for the last 10 days after being battered by his mother’s partner at Thodupuzha, died on Saturday.
The hospital authorities declared his death at 11.35 am. The child who was surviving on ventilator support failed to respond to medicines by Saturday morning. His mother was beside him when the end came. His brain had stopped functioning for the last two days and the medical board from the Kottayam Medical College Hospital, which visited the hospital on Friday, recommended discontinuation of the ventilator support. The inquest of the child was held at the Kolenchery hospital and the post-mortem at the Kottayam MCH. The funeral will be held at the house of the mother at Karimannoor near Thodupuzha. The child was admitted to a private hospital at Thodupuzha on February 28 and later transferred to the Kolenchery. Arun Anand delayed treatment of the child by unnecessarily arguing with the doctor when he was taken to the hospital on February 28.
His mother and her partner Arun Anand initially told the hospital authorities that he was injured after falling from the bed. Arun also tried to delay the treatment by arguing with the doctors for half an hour, it is said.
During the detailed check-up, it was found that the skull of the child was fractured and portions of the brain had come out. He was being administered liquid food through a nasal tube.
“The functions of the brain were totally affected due to the injuries sustained in the skull. He was unconscious during the last few days. However, his other organs were functioning well,” sources said.
Arun, who was earlier booked for attempt to murder, has been charged with murder. He is in the Muttam jail now.
He was previously a resident of Kanaka Nagar near Nanthencode under Museum police station limits in Thiruvananthapuram and was involved in five cases, including one for murder. These included two cases at Museum police station, two at Fort police station and one at Valiyathura..
He is the son of a bank employee couple. Though he got a bank job through compassionate appointment after his father died, he left the job for starting his own business. He shifted his residence from the city ten months ago.
Arun, who was the sixth accused in the murder of his friend Vijayaraghavan during a booze party in an apartment near Nanthencode, was exonerated by the court. He was also accused in cases registered in 2014, 2016 and 2018 for criminal trespass, assault and extortion and the trial in those cases is still pending.
Arun was under the influence of alcohol when he committed the crimes. He was not part of any criminal gang as, except in the murder case, he committed the other crimes alone.
