Minor siblings thrashed, locked in bathroom by foster parents in Odisha

Two minor siblings were subjected to torture allegedly by their foster parents in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district. Both the minors were allegedly beaten up brutally and were locked in bathroom and another room of a house at Demal village under Parjang police limits.

As per reports, the children were doing mischief and were hiding in nearby isolated places for which they were allegedly beaten up by the couple who had adopted them some years back.

“My mother had locked me inside the bathroom. Though she had given me some food, she had beaten me with a stick yesterday,” said Sanju (name changed).

Sources said Sanju and her brother had lost their mother and their father faced difficulty in raising them due to financial issues. Initially, a local resident had taken the siblings to his own house and later the children were handed over to the couple in the locality.

On getting information about the incident, police reached the spot following directions from the Sub-Collector and rescued both the children. The children have been admitted to Parjang hospital for treatment.

“We had brought the children to take care of them. But what could we have done as they were running away into the forest. Had anything happened to them, we would have been held accountable,” said Foster father, Ajay Sahoo.

Local Sarpanch, Sunil Dhar said, “On getting information, I had reached the spot and found that the children were beaten and locked in bathroom and toilet. We demand an inquiry and appropriate action as per law.”

(Reported by Bidhyadhar Baral)