Anti-child labour activist Shantha Sinha demands action against parents of abused five-year-old in Kerala

Prof. Shantha Sinha, an anti-child labour activist of international reputation, on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the horrific abuse of a five-year-old boy fighting for his life in Kerala after being brutally beaten up by his father and stepmother, and demanded that quick action must be taken against the parents for this ghastly act.

"It's shocking that parents have inflicted such violence on their son. It's a serious matter. I think action must be taken on the parents. They cannot be regarded as parents now, they have to be only seen as criminals and there has to be quick action on them," Sinha told Asian News International (ANI) here.

"But the child has to be taken care of by the government. It seems that the chief minister and the government is taking care of the child, but there has to be a plan where this Child Welfare Committee should be consulted to see how the child is rehabilitated and monitored properly," she added.

Sinha, who is the founder of Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation, further said that violence on children is never a silent issue.

"The neighbourhood would know about it and they must never remain silent, they must bring it to the notice of the police or the authorities. It's never a private issue. Once there is violence on the child even by the parent, it is a public issue and violence on children is a human rights issue," said Sinha.

"So, therefore, I urge all the neighbours that whenever they find that parents are inflicting violence on children, they report the matter and play their role as proper citizens," she added.

A five-year-old boy is fighting for life in a ventilator at a private hospital in Kumily in Idukki district after he was subjected to unimaginable physical torture allegedly by his own father and stepmother.

The child has a head injury and doctors at the private Idukki hospital where he is being treated say they fear brain damage.

Both his legs are fractured and his swollen little body has injury marks in several places.

The father and the stepmother, who the child lived with after his parents separated, have been arrested. They have reportedly told the police that the child had fallen down and got hurt, but doctors ruled that out as the injuries are very severe.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked district authorities to submit an urgent report on the incident.