Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on July 22, 2017
Three-year-old girl ‘sexually tortured with needles’ dies in hospital in Kolkata
As per police sources, the girl’s mother is a domestic help at the residence of the accused Thakur in Purulia. The accused allegedly inserted the needles into the girl to practice his “tantric powers”.
“She died today morning with sepsis pneumonia”, Dr. Ajoy Ray, Director (IPGMER), confirmed.
A three-year-old girl from Purulia, who was allegedly “sexually tortured”, died on Friday at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. Doctors said they extracted seven four-inch needles from her, including her private parts. Police suspect they were inserted there as part of “tantric rituals” by her mother’s employer, 62-year-old Sanatan Thakur, who is still absconding. The role of the mother is also under police scanner.
On Tuesday, doctors extracted the needles after a surgery lasting around two hours.
“She was stable for 12 -18 hours, and then she developed respiratory failure caused due to intra-abdominal sepsis. Once you take out the foreign body (needle in her case), there are chances of bleeding and developing sepsis. That’s what exactly happened in her case,” said a doctor at the hospital on condition of anonymity. “Her heart stopped beating at around 12.30 am, and by 2 am she was declared dead.”
“She died today morning with sepsis pneumonia”, Dr. Ajoy Ray, Director (IPGMER), confirmed.
Police, meanwhile, said they may soon add murder charges against the accused, who is already wanted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO Act) and IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder).
“We might add Section 304 of IPC (murder), but we are waiting to catch the accused. He doesn’t use a mobile phone. We have raided all his relatives’ houses. Every police station has been informed. Even Jharkhand police have been alerted. As of now, he hasn’t been traced,” said Joy Biswas, SP (Purulia).
While doctors at the hospital point to “sexual torture”, police are yet to confirm this as they are waiting for the postmortem report.
Story continues below this ad
As per police sources, the girl’s mother is a domestic help at the residence of the accused Thakur in Purulia. The accused allegedly inserted the needles into the girl to practice his “tantric powers”.
On Saturday, the girl was referred to Bankura Sammilani Medical College after she developed fever. There, doctors found several injury marks on the body and an x-ray revealed the needles. She was immediately referred to SSKM’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and a medical board was formed to plan her treatment.
“I have never seen a body with so many injuries at the age of three,” said another doctor at SSKM.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has demanded a social inquiry in the case.
Story continues below this ad
“We have been associated with the case since day one. With the help of DM and other officials, she (the girl) was transferred to SSKM. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be saved,” said Ananya Chakraborti, chairperson of the Commission. “You cannot ignore the vulnerability of her mother. She is a young single mother who is not literate; she was also being exploited by Sanatan Thakur. He had fooled her. I have spoken to DGP Surjit Kar Purkayastha and SP Joy Biswas.”
“They have assured a swift arrest. Now we want to work on a larger perspective, we want social inquiry into the background of both the mother and the accused,” she added.
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Live Blog