Assamese girl a ‘battered child’, say medical experts

Victim undergoing treatment at ICH in Kottayam

The little Assamese girl admitted to the paediatric surgical wing at the Institute of Child Health (ICH) of the Kottayam Medical College Hospital last month is a victim of neglect and sustained abuse qualifying her as a ‘battered child,’ observed medical experts. A medical board, comprising doctors drawn from various departments, that met on Monday had concluded as much though whether the abuse was sexual remains something to be found out by a police investigation. The Battered Child Syndrome denotes injuries suffered by a child as a result of physical abuse inflicted usually by an adult caregiver. “The lacerations just above the vagina were indicative of possible unnatural sex though the hymen was intact. The child remains to be examined by a gastroenterologist to ascertain whether the rectal perforations were on account of some rare disease though the findings of the paediatric surgeon were adequate enough,” said ICH sources.