Six children were burnt with heated spoon by ayahs of a state-run Shishu Griha as punishment for not wanting to eat dinner five days back. Three of the little children, all less than five years old, had blisters on their hands from the branding.
The staff of the home concealed their barbaric act for four days. However, the incident came to light on Wednesday when a regional language newspaper carried a story based on CCTV footage leaked by one of the workers of the home. The three children whose burns were quite serious are Geeta, Rajan and Swaroopa. They were admitted to the district headquarter hospital and discharged in the evening. The other three had minor burns. Eight abandoned children are housed in the Shishu Griha.
CCTV footage showed that ayah K. Padma burned the hands of the six kids as they did not want to eat dinner on April 15.
Another ayah, D. Buchamma, heated the spoon on a stove and handed it to Padma while a third ayah, Sharada, remained a mute spectator to the barbaric act.
DC’s take
Time and again we hear horrific stories emanating from orphanages and children’s home. It’s a double whammy for inmates there as first they have lost family support and then are subjected to abject injustice — physical and mental — which proves detrimental to their growth. The only solution to this problem is bringing to book those involved in such cases at the earliest. Also, the administration has to ensure that such incidents do not re-occur. Periodic checks at such homes should be a norm rather than exception.
