Angry over bed-wetting, step-mother brands 7-year-old girl with hot spatula

Kollam: A seven-year-old girl was branded with a hot spatula at home by her step-mother, angry over the child wetting her bed, police said in Kollam on Tuesday. The incident, which took place last week, came to light on Tuesday after the child revealed her ordeal to her teachers when she attended school, they said.

Seeing the child's discomfort in the class, teachers questioned her and she showed the burn marks on her stomach, thighs and private parts, a teacher at the school said.

School authorities immediately informed childline, an NGO, which contacted police.

The step-mother and father, a lorry driver, have been arrested and a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and the Juvenile Justice Act was registered, police sources said.