Hyderabad:
Sometimes hell can be inside a home, invisible to the world outside. This is the heartrending story of a 10-year-old mentally challenged child who her own parents admit, were trying to get rid of.
NDTV had got information about the tragic story of unfortunate abuse of the child by her own family and child rights activist Achyutha Rao said he had good reason to believe there was a plan to do away with the child sooner rather than later.
The local police was informed and NDTV went in to find out if something as unbelievable as biological parents trying to get rid of a differently abled child was possible and to rescue the child, if necessary.
There was information that the 10-year-old intellectually challenged child at a modest home in Meerpet area of Hyderabad was being fed soaps, detergents and toilet cleaner. And the suspicion was that her parents had a hand in allowing that to happen.
The child was seen holding a washing soap wrap and biting it, as children would normally hold toffee and chocolate wraps. She had multiple bumps and injuries on the head. The family said the child banged her head on a wall. There was a rope tied to the window. The mother said she was forced to tie the child up, so she would not eat whatever she found.
"She eats up whatever is around. In fact, she eats and drinks soap and even phenyl,'' the mother said. "So did you take her to a doctor?'' the reporter asked. "No, nothing happens to her. Only loose motions,'' said the mother.
Mr Rao of Balala Hakkula Sangam described it as a nightmare for the child "because her own mother and family created hell for the child. That is the tragedy. That is the pity''.
A close relative told NDTV the child was starved for a week in the past. "But she survived, only got very weak. In fact, the monthly pension of Rs 1,500 is perhaps the only reason she even survived this long,'' he said.
"We will be feeling home is the only good place for us. But for that girl it is worse than Central jail. She will be tied up. If you free her, she will eat soap. If she is tied, she will bang her head. My cousin is seeing hell with that girl.''
The 10-year-old has two younger siblings and presumably it was far from easy for the mother to look after all three.
When NDTV visited her home, the 10-year-old had multiple injury marks on the head
"It was a burden. They have three children. You can say a mother should have love towards the child. But which mother can clean up 20 times a day, day after day for 10 years?'' a cousin of the mother said.
The children's mother and her auto-driver husband had tried to put the differently abled child in a government-run home or hostel but they refused, saying they would only take orphans.
"The tragedy in a state like Telangana is we don't have a government-run home to take care of unwanted children like this little girl. Does she not have the right to life and some dignity, some love? How can we deny that to her,'' asked Mr Rao.
The father of the child says he looked upon his eldest daughter as 'Lakshmi' but prefers that she be shifted to a government home.
"No. Better if she is in hostel. She would eat up everything in the house. I am not at home the whole day and my wife finds it difficult to manage.''
Childline activists decided to shift the 10-year-old to a government-run facility but finding a suitable home for her is proving to be a huge challenge. Childline volunteers are on the lookout for a suitable place that can provide care and protection to a special child.
As expected, the family raised no objections to the child being shifted. An elderly grandmother, however, couldn't hold back her tears and the rush of emotion. She quickly fed the child a hot meal at home and showered her with kisses and tears before sending her away, probably for ever.
Perhaps perceiving that the elder among them is going away forever, her 8-year-old sister took out what she called a 'favourite dress' for the sister to wear and brought out a few peppermints to pass on into the hands of the one who was going away from home. Innocent bonds of love that time and age tend to corrupt.