A horrific case of child abuse has come to light in the city of Guwahati in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. A three-year-old girl child was allegedly held captive and subjected to physical and sexual abuse by a doctor couple, identified as Dr. Walliul Islam and Dr. Sangeeta Datta, along with their domestic help Lakshmi Nath.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the child bore injury and burn marks on her private parts and bruises on several parts of her body. The child’s private parts were also burnt with cigarettes. The doctor couple and their maid were arrested and produced before the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Guwahati. The couple has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The couple had lied about being the biological parents of the fraternal twins found in the house. The police are now investigating to find out who the children belong to and how they came to the doctor couple’s house.
According to the police, there were a total of three children in the house—a three-year-old girl, her twin brother, and an older girl. The couple used to physically abuse both the girl and the boy. The boy is currently undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the city, while the twins are receiving medical treatment.
The Assam director general of police (DGP) is personally monitoring the case, while Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is also keeping track. The police investigation is ongoing at a fast pace to uncover the truth behind the abuse of the children.
The case against the couple was initially booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to an attempt to murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, wrongful restraint, and acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention. Later, Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act was also added, which pertains to any person having control of the child, assaulting, abandoning, abusing, or willfully neglecting the child.
Child rights activist Miguel Das Queah had initially written about the abuse on social media and sought police help to rescue the girl. After a neighbor complained to the police, they swung into action and rescued the child.
The incident has sent shockwaves across the country, and the authorities are ensuring that the children receive the best medical care and that the perpetrators face the full force of the law. Such heinous crimes against innocent children must be condemned in the strongest terms, and the perpetrators must be punished severely to set an example for others.
