Brutal torture of Kerala boy: Father, stepmother convicted

Thodupuzha: In a case of attempt of murder on a five-year-old boy, Shefeeq, in Kerala in 2013, a Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Thodupuzha sentenced a man to seven years of imprisonment and his wife to ten 10 years on Friday. The boy’s father, Shareef, and his stepmother, Aneesha, were found guilty as charged by the court.

After 11 years of the incident, the court upheld the charges of attempted murder against the duo, Onmanorama reported.

In July 2013, the little boy was hospitalised in Kattappana with severe head injuries, burns and fractured bones, but his father claimed that the injuries were from falling from a ladder. But the doctors found that the child was subjected to brutal torture, the prosecution submitted.

A head injury to the boy had caused 75 per cent brain haemorrhage, and he remained critical at the hospital. Though doctors warned of the risk of brain death, he survived.

After a probe into the matter, the police arrested Shereef and Aneesha after finding that the boy was starved for days and severely abused.

Aged 16, Shafeeq now suffers from severe mental and physical impairment, out of the injuries, and is bedridden. Ragini, who takes care of him, said that the boy remains a victim of horrific child abuse, Onmanorama reported.

The trial on the case started only in 2022, around a decade after the case was registered. When the defence argued that medical negligence exacerbated the child’s condition, the circumstantial evidence and medical reports led to the conviction of the accused. Police had charged the accused with murder, assault and causing grievous hurt with fire.