Monster couple held for torturing minor nephew

The child revealed his ordeal to a neighbour who alerted members of Childline Foundation

Bhayandar : Seven-year-old Latiff (name changed) was an excited child when his distantly related ‘Khaala and Khaalu’ brought him to Mumbai last year from his native village in Anjum Nagar area of Sahebganj district in Jharkhand promising better education and livelihood.

However, once here he was not only reduced to serving as a domestic help but was subjected to brutal physical torture and forced to live in utmost inhuman conditions by the monster couple identified as Nasir Hussain (41) and his wife Gajala (35) at their flat in Tabassum Apartment in Naya Nagar area of Mira Road.

Forced to do all the domestic chores, Latiff was never sent to school. Petty mistakes invited the ire of monster couple (who have a four year old son) who brutally assaulted Latiff and even burnt him with a hot knife on several occasions. Unable to bear the torture, Latiff revealed about the ordeal to a neighbour who immediately alerted the Childline Foundation- whose members immediately tipped off the Mira Road police and rescued the child.

“Immediately after receiving the information our team swung into action and arrested the couple who have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and under sections 23 and 26 of the Child Labour Act,” said Senior Police Inspector Dhanaji Kshirsagar adding that the child’s parents have been informed and they have left for Mumbai. The child who is left with a fractured arm, did not reveal his ordeal for fear of being punished, told the cops that he was tortured every couple of days over the past one year. While the couple has been remanded to police custody, the child has been sent to the Children’s Home in Bhiwandi.

Police Sub Inspector Aslam Khateeb is investigating the case.

Suresh Golani