Idukki:
The condition of the five-year-old boy, who was brutalised and tortured by his parents, is improving, doctors attending to him said today.
The child underwent a tracheotomy surgery in the morning, which allows a person to breathe without his nose or mouth. Doctors said he was responding positively to it.
The child was also off the ventilator for half-an-hour today and will be gradually weaned off it, the doctors said.
The boy was brought to the hospital in a severely battered condition by his father, a labourer, who said that the injuries were inflicted after the child fell off a ladder.
However, the doctors found serious injuries on his head, burn marks on his body and fracture in both legs.
They alerted the police who found that the boy had been subjected to extreme torture by his father and stepmother. Both of them have been arrested.
Churches in Kerala have been holding regular prayers for the boy.