IDUKKI: Eleven years after a five-year-old boy, Shafeeq, was brutally attacked by his biological father and stepmother in Idukki’s Kumily, leaving him in a near-death condition, the Thodupuzha First Additional Sessions Court judge Ash K Bal sentenced the duo to rigorous imprisonment (RI) on Friday.
Shafeeq’s father Shareef of Kumily, the first accused, was sentenced to seven years’ RI and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment, he shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for one more year. Shafeeq’s stepmother Aneesha, the second accused, was sentenced to 10-year RI and fined Rs 2 lakh. In default, she shall undergo two years of rigorous imprisonment, the court order said.
Shafeeq was hospitalised on July 15, 2013, with severe head injuries, burns, and fractured bones. Shareef claimed Shafeeq sustained the injuries after falling off a ladder. However, doctors realised he had been brutally tortured.
The police arrested Shareef and Aneesha following an investigation, which revealed the boy had been starved for days and severely abused. Shafeeq remained in critical condition, with a deep head injury causing 75% brain haemorrhage. Doctors warned of brain death, but Shafeeq survived.
Will spend the rest of my life for Shafeeq: Caretaker
Shafeeq is looked after by a caretaker named Ragini A H, who was appointed by the state government in 2013, after Shafeeq’s relative’s were reluctant to take his guardianship while he was undergoing treatment at Christian Medical College Hospital in Vellore.
Ragini’s life is now in an inseparable bond with Shafeeq as the 48-year-old single woman, a resident of Elappara, has virtually become his mother.
Ragini said when she first met ‘Vavachi’, his face was pale, lying in coma with injuries all over the body and serious head injury that wiped out his memory. “Doctors had little hope. However, I used to hold his hands all the time and kiss him on his forehead. Whether it was a miracle or God’s grace, he moved the fingers of his left hand on the fourth day of treatment,” she said.
“Although I am happy with the judgment, the the trauma the child had to endure cannot be compensated with the punishment,” Ragini said.
Since her life is closely attached to Shafeeq’s, she has no plans to marry, Ragini said. “I am content with my present life and I will spent the rest of it looking after my child and my parents,” she said.
