KOZHIKODE: Thamarassery Judicial Magistrate Court on Tuesday granted bail to godman Hydros Ali Thangal (72) and his disciple Aboobacker (34) of Omassery who denied a newborn baby breastfeeding. The court directed both to report and sign at Mukkom police station every week. They were booked under Sections 75 (cruelty to child) and 87 (abetment of crime) of Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children) 2015. The incident was reported on Wednesday at E.M.S Cooperative Hospital, Mukkam.
Aboobacker’s wife gave birth to a baby boy at 2 pm, and he prevented his wife from breastfeeding saying the newborn should hear prayer calls from the Mosque five times (24 hours) before that as insisted by the Thangal. Aboobacker even threatened to divorce his wife had she defied him. Even the doctors or the police could convince him, and the baby was breastfed only the next afternoon. The duo was produced before the court on Saturday and remanded.
Soon after the incident, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) intervened and ensured action. According to Thangal, he had only given a direction to Aboobacker that it would be better to breastfeed after hearing prayer calls, a custom he followed when his grandchildren were born. Though Aboobacker’s wife was an accomplice, she was let off on humanitarian ground.
