Jodhpur:
Three days after the shocking story of a three-year-old child battered by his step-father in Jodhpur came to light, there is some good news. Doctors attending to Sanyam Jain, who is admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the Umaid Hospital in the city, say that he is now recovering.
Sanyam was brought to the hospital by his mother Nidhi in a bruised and battered condition - he had sustained two fractures and had burns and human bite marks all over his body. He was also suffering from malnutrition and anaemia and has hence been given a blood transfusion.
The injuries on the child's body, Nidhi alleged, had been inflicted upon by his step-father, Kailash Jain who also used to keep the three-old starved. He was arrested on Friday and was sent to police custody by a court in Jalore.
Nidhi says her ordeal began with her marriage to Kailash in 2001. "I tolerated his atrocities for four years but when it all became too much, I left his house and came back to my parental home in Jodhpur," she says.
After her split with Kailash, she tied the knot with another man in 2007. But unfortunately, even her second marriage did not last long. In 2010, she left her second husband with her son and returned to her parents.
About three months ago, Kailash reportedly convinced Nidhi to come back to him. "He promised that if I lived with him, he would give up alcohol," she said.
But he soon reverted to his old habits and cruel behaviour and started abusing Nidhi and her son from her second marriage.
"He started drinking again. He hated the boy particularly. He used to beat him mercilessly every day and would starve him. While doing this, he used to push me into a room and lock it from outside," said Nidhi.
On Wednesday, Kailash bit the child and branded him with hot rods. "I somehow managed to flee with my son and rushed to my parents who took us to the hospital immediately," she added.
Doctors attending to the boy at the hospital say he is suffering from "battered baby syndrome" and besides other serious injuries.
"He is traumatised and only saying 'my father beat me'. The boy was suffering for the last two months so the case is critical but he is showing sign of improvement," paediatrician Pramod Sharma said. He added that it would take almost two weeks to get the child back to normalcy.
Meanwhile, the police have not yet recovered any sharp weapon suspected to be used by the father during his atrocities on the child. Kailash Jain runs a clinic in Vaishala village in Jalore district. "We have registered a case against him and arrested him from his village residence after recording the statements of his wife in Jodhpur," Jalore Superintendent of Police Rahuldan Bareth said.
Sanyam's case is similar to two-year-old Baby Falak who was brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences last month in a battered condition. She had severe bruises, head injuries and broken arms. Her head had been badly smashed, and she too had bite marks all over her. She is still undergoing treatment and continues to be critical.
(With PTI inputs)