HYDERABAD:Days after 19-year-old Pratyusha’s brutal torture at the hands of her father and stepmother shocked the entire State, the similar plight of another teenager came to light here Friday. The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) rescued Bhavani (18) from the clutches of her relatives at Telecom Colony near Vayupuri in Neredmet.
Like Pratyusha, she too has several injury marks all over her body, the recent one being a burn on her back made with a hot steel spatula. According to police, Bhavani had been living with her cousin Srinivasa Rao and his wife Laxmi at their residence in Telecom Colony for the last five years. Before that, she had stayed at an orphanage after the expiry of her parents.
On Friday, as Rao and his wife went to take a Pushkaram dip in river Godavari, the girl mustered enough courage to send an SoS to the SCPCR through her neighbours.
The officials, who responded immediately, went to the flat and rescued her. “We have sent her to the Gandhi hospital for treatment. We will arrest the accused as soon as they return,” said the police. The teenager drew inspiration from the rescue of Pratyusha whose case she had followed on TV.
“Her parents expired long ago. Since her guardians are away for three days, she asked someone to call the child rights panel for her rescue. Pratyusha’s rescue gave her hope,” said Syed Rafeeq, ACP, Alwal. Rao and Laxmi took Bhavani under their wings ostensibly to give her good education and a home. But in reality, they treated her like a domestic help. “For last 4-5 years, she had been doing household chores. They used to beat her frequently. She was not allowed to go out of house or meet anyone. She had to discontinue her education after Class IV,” the ACP said.
Achutha Rao, member, SCPCR, said he had received an anonymous call at 3 p.m. on the plight of the girl. “The girl lost her mother Tirupatamma and father Yesu Babu in 2008. Some relatives had lodged her in an orphanage. Later, Rao brought her home promising schooling but, he employed her in his own petty business and Laxmi started torturing her,” he explained.