Custodial dad, stepmother in police custody for torturing child (Pathanamthitta, India)

The 4-year-old girl started living with the dad (identified only as SANTHOSH) and the stepmother two years ago. No indication in this article as to whether the girl's mother is still living, or whether this "situation" was the result of some other arrangements.

http://www.samaylive.com/news/father-stepmother-in-police-custody-for-torturing-child/648928.html

Father, step-mother in police custody for torturing child

Published: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 at 13:43 IST

Pathanamthitta (Ker), Aug20 (PTI) A father of a four-year-old girl along with her step-mother were arrested following complaints of torture inflicted on the child by the couple, police said here today.The girl yesterday sought the protection of her teachers in a pre-primary school near her home, leading to the arrest of the couple, who allegedly inflicted severe bruises on her body, at Thiruvalla near here.

With a burn scar on her right arm and a swollen eye, Saneesha, an LKG student, told her teachers that she had been silently suffering the torture for quite some time and was scared to tell anybody about her sufferings, police said.

Moved by the girl's story, the teachers immediately brought the issue to the notice of police, who arrested her father Santhosh and step-mother Saritha, charging them with cruelty towards the child, the sources said.

The girl told police that the scar on her hand was the result of a red-hot iron ladle placed by her step-mother while the swollen eye was the result of the severe beating she received the previous day.

Daily wage earners who live in a rented shack, Saritha was the second wife of Santhosh and the girl had been living with them for the past two years. The girl told police that Saritha used to beat her severely for flimsy reasons.

The girl, now under the care of police, has been admitted to hospital.