The Bhoiwada police, Bhiwandi, have arrested an NGO director for allegedly branding a three-year-old girl with a hot object, who was staying in a shelter home for the destitute. The victim was living for the last two-and-a-half months in Shobha ashram because her parents, who survive by begging in Kalyan, were not able to take care of her, said the police.
“The girl's parents are footpath dwellers so the child was staying with her grandmother in Bhiwandi. As the elderly also could not properly look after the minor, she was later admitted to Shobha ashram,” said a police official.
The facility, which is said to be working for the destitute for several years, is run by the accused, Datta Shrirang Gaysamundre, under the DSG Life Care Foundation. Apart from looking after basic needs of the kids, the shelter reportedly tries to get them admitted into government schools. Currently, there are eight-10 children staying in ashram, said police sources.
The incident came to light when Gaysamundre informed the victim's grandmother that she had developed a wound and asked her to take home. Two days after coming from the shelter, the girl had a fever and was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, from where she was referred to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa.
The doctor suggested that the injuries were possibly caused by burning with some object, and alerted the police. Based on the grandmother's statement, a complaint was lodged on Friday. “We will also record the statement of the doctor who treated her. We are verifying whether the NGO has appropriate permission from the state government,” said Inspector Ajay Aphale.
Gaysamundre was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 118(1) (whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for any purpose) and provision 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice Act. He has been remanded to police custody.
