Patna: A photograph of a young boy crouching on sand after suffering domestic violence has been haunting the Indian state of Bihar.
Police in the state rescued a six-year-old nearing collapse after being beaten and tortured by his own father over a period of seven days. The allegedly drunk father had often denied the boy food during this time.
Acting on a tip off about the domestic abuse, authorities rushed to the house in a village in Kishanganj district, Bihar, on Tuesday. Witnesses said when the police rescued the boy, identified as Abhishek Kumar, he was very weak; his voice was barely above a whisper and he looked very frail.
“We have rescued the boy. His condition is very pathetic but we are providing all necessary helps to him,” a local government official, Raman Kumar Singh, told the media on Wednesday. He said action would be initiated against the accused father who is now absconding.
Villagers told the official that the accused, Mukhtar Mahato, always returns home drunk and then tortures his son. They said interference earned them abuse and violence.
Villagers said the boy stays with his father; his mother had walked out on Mahato as a result of his drinking.
