Child abuse
(Representational Picture)REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

An elderly woman has been accused of inflicting serious injuries on the private parts of her four-year-old granddaughter in Haryana. The girl lay injured at home for nearly 10 days until members of child welfare rescued her and took her to a hospital.

The incident came to light on Thursday when Sirsa's district child protection committee officials got a tip off about the girl's private parts being burned with tongs. The elderly woman was identified as the kid's grandmother, who had allegedly injured the kid on July 9.

A child welfare panel member told NDTV that the girl, who was taken to the hospital for treating the burns, has been discharged.

Villagers say that the four-year-old is the youngest of the three sisters. The family had wanted a boy in her place. Villagers described that it was the reason behind the merciless act.

"The girl's father told us that it would've been better had the child been a boy," said Gita Kathuria of Child Protection Committee to NDTV.

While the villagers complained that the family was the one torturing the kid, police have registered a complaint against unknown miscreants, say reports.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Kakkar said that they are investigating into the matter and would make an arrest as soon as they find any lead.

Manohar lal
[Representational image]Creative commons

In 2015, the Narendra Modi government had chosen Haryana for launching its scheme – 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana'. This was to improve the sex ratio of the state. In March, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had even said that sex ratio in Haryana had actually improved.