ANGUL: Chhendipada police on Sunday arrested a couple on the charge of branding their minor son with hot iron for not going to school. The accused were identified as Subash Chandra Pradhan and his wife Manjulata of Hatianali village under Balipata panchayat within Chhendipada police limits. Manjulata is the stepmother of the 12-year-old victim.
Police sources said Subash had married Manjulata after his first wife deserted him. The boy was from his first marriage. Several days back, the stepmother reportedly told the boy to stop going to school. Accordingly, the kid remained at home and spent his time playing.
On August 9, Subash came home from work and found that his son had not gone to school. Before the kid could answer, Manjulata told her husband that despite her efforts, the boy was unwilling to go to school. She further instigated Subash by claiming that the kid had not gone to school for the last around one month.
Enraged, Subash tied his son with a rope and thrashed him mercilessly. Subsequently, he brought a hot iron rod and branded the kid at four places on his body. The boy was rescued by his grandmother who rushed to the spot on hearing his screams.
The grandmother informed childline, Angul about the incident, following which a team rushed to Hatianali village on Saturday. The boy was produced before the child welfare commission and later shifted to a short stay home after undergoing medical examination.
Meanwhile, basing on the complaint of the kid’s grandmother, police registered a case and arrested Subash and Manjulata. The couple was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.