Mysuru: In a heart-rending incident, a man tied his five-year-old son’s private parts with a rubber band as the child was wetting the bed. The child was also allegedly sexually assaulted by the father, who doubted the fidelity of his wife.
While the mother of the child is no more, the father, a daily wage worker in Periyapatna, had reportedly tied the private parts of the boy to stop him from wetting the bed. The child, whose private parts were swollen, was brought to Cheluvamba Hospital here.
The child told the doctors that his father tied the rubber band as he was wetting the bed. The special treatment unit for sexually abused women and children at Cheluvamba Hospital and officials of the department of women and child development have taken cognisance of the case and lodged a complaint with the Periyapatna police. “The child has been rescued and housed at the government home for boys in Mysuru,” said women’s commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai here on Wednesday, during a district review meeting.
During the meeting, the police revealed that 81 cases of crime against children were reported in Mysuru from January till July-end. Of them, 19 were rape and eight sexual assault cases. The police have also booked 48 kidnapping, one bonded labour and one trafficking case.
Also, 173 crimes against women were reported during the period. Of them, nine were of rape, 77 of molestation, 16 of cruelty by husband and relatives, 12 cases under immoral trafficking act and 41 dowry-related incidents.
In Mysuru Rural, 181 cases of crime against women and children were reported. Of them 19 were of rape, 66 of sexual assault, one case of murder by burning for dowry, 10 cases under immoral trafficking prevention act and 36 of dowry-related cases. Five cases of burning women to death for dowry have been reported from the rural parts. Also, two child marriage cases were reported in the city and three in Mysuru Rural.
“Cases of crime against women and children in Mysuru district are not as alarming as it is in North Karnataka, but the police should handle victims in a humane manner,” said Ms Nagalakshmi Bhai. She directed the Mysuru deputy commissioner to issue notices to Mysuru city police commissioner Subramanyeswara Rao, Mysuru SP Ravi D. Chennannanavar and labour department officers for not being present at the meeting.
