Hyderabad:
A six-year-old girl was allegedly brutally tortured after being sold to a couple in Tadepallegudem in West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. The girl was found with her hands burnt, her right thigh bone fractured and injuries to her head. She was moved to a private hospital this evening and is reportedly critical.
The girl was allegedly tortured for over two months by a woman named Kothu Lakshmi, who 'adopted' her from her biological mother in exchange of Rs 10, 000. The mother of the girl says she thought the youngest of her three daughters was getting a chance to live a better life and the Rs 10, 000 being offered in exchange for the child would help her siblings, and hence she agreed.
Days after the couple took her away, the child said she wanted to go home to her mother and her frail body and small hands were incapable of doing household work; the couple began torturing her in retaliation.
According to the doctors, the child has suffered multiple burn injuries in several parts of her body. Doctors say septecemia has set in and that has turned the child's condition critical. Her right thigh bone is dislocated with a fracture.
District Police Chief Ramesh Mastipuram told NDTV that a case under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) has been booked and they are also considering including section 307 (attempt to murder). The child has been shifted to a private hospital after the district collector intervened.