Rajakumari (Idukki): A five-year-old boy has been admitted to the Taluk Hospital at Adimali with festering burn injuries allegedly inflicted by his mother.
The mother reportedly told the police she scalded her son with a heated steel ladle to prevent him from running into the nearby forest.
The boy was hospitalised after the burns on his left foot and hip started suppurating.
The mother is currently with her child in the hospital. Police said she would be arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act on Saturday. Child protection officer in Idukki M G Geeta said they would meet the medical expenses of the boy, if necessary.
The boy was scalded four days ago. His parents, both from Tamil Nadu, have been working in the plantations. The woman reportedly told the police that she inflicted the burns so that her son would stay indoors when both of them went out on work.
The couple had left for Tamil Nadu after the boy was scalded. They returned on Friday.
The incident came to light when the neighbours found the boy missing. On enquiring, they were told of the burns that kept the child indoors. They informed the Childline volunteers, who took the boy to the primary health centre at Santhanpara, and informed the police.
Emotional scenes at healthcare centre
The primary healthcare centre witnessed emotional scenes when police and others asked the boy what had happened. "My mother inflicted the burns on me," the boy beamed, hugging his mother.
The woman, too, admitted to the mistake. "He is too naughty. I did it to prevent him from running into the forest. It happened," she broke down before the police.
