Mother of abused three-year-old arrested for collusion

The mother of the three-year-old girl, who died in a hospital here after being repeatedly sexually and physically abused, including being pierced with needles, has been arrested for allegedly helping in the crime, police said on Sunday.

"Mangala Goswami was arrested on Saturday for allegedly helping the main accused in abusing the child. She has been remanded to two days of police custody," police said.

The child, a resident of West Bengal's Purulia district, was brought to the SSKM hospital here in a critical condition last week, after being pierced with needles by an elderly person, who employs her mother as a domestic help.

Police had earlier registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act against main accused Sanatan Thakur, Goswami's employee but has failed to arrest him till now.

The abuse came to light when the child's mother took her to the Bankura Medical college complaining of cough and cold but the doctors found multiple external injuries on her body, some inflicted by needles.

The child was referred to SSKM Hospital where the doctors took out as many as seven needles from her body. However, her health condition deteriorated and she succumbed to sepsis and pneumonia between early on July 21.

--IANS

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