Guwahati (Assam) , May 7 : A doctor couple was arrested by Guwahati City Police at Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya for allegedly abusing and torturing a four-year-old child they had adopted, informed officials.
Police arrested Psychiatrist Sangeeta Datta from Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district a day after her husband Dr Walliul Islam who is a gastrointestinal and advanced general surgeon, was held from his residence in the capital city of Assam.
According to police , a case has been registered against the doctor couple at Paltan Bazar police station under various Sections of IPC and the Juvenile Justice Act after police received information that, a 4-year-old minor girl’s hands were tied to a pole on the terrace and police immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the minor girl.
At first, they (the doctor couple) said that the girl is their own child, but during the investigation, we found that she was not their child and they adopted her. When we rescued the minor girl, we also found several injuries, and burn marks on her body. The minor girl also told us that she was tortured by the couple. During the investigation we have found many other complaints.
According to news agency PTI , the arrests were made after photographs of the four-year-old girl tied to a pole on the terrace of their apartment went viral on social media on Friday.
The Assam Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) has taken cognizance of the matter and written to the civil and police administration to initiate enquiry and take action against the accused.
The girl has been taken by authorities for medical examination.
“After receiving information about the girl being tied to a pole, a team from Paltan Bazar police station went to their apartment and picked up the girl’s father and their domestic help on Friday evening. They were arrested on Sunday while the girl’s mother has still not appeared before us,” a police officer said.
He said the details of the adoption are also being looked into.
ASCPCR chairperson Sunita Changkakoti said the Commission has taken note of the matter and she has written to the Guwahati police commissioner and the Kamrup (Metro) deputy commissioner on Friday evening, seeking details about the incident.
She said the previous wife of the accused doctor had brought similar charges against him of abusing their child a few years back.
“We had looked into the matter but he had managed to evade punishment. We had set some guidelines for him to abide by, but he had failed to adhere to those too. We are looking into the current matter as well,” Changkakoti added.
Meanwhile, the arrested doctor’s wife, in a video uploaded on social media on Friday night, claimed a conspiracy was hatched to “defame and destroy” her family.
She maintained that the children’s caretakers or other people employed by the family may have conspired with others and are framing the parents.
The couple has a total of three children, all adopted, including the allegedly abused girl and her twin brothers.
( With Agency inputs )
