Chennai: A four-year-old girl was branded indiscriminately in the body and face at a government mid-day meal centre in Surlipatti near Cumbum on Monday as the anganwadi assistant lost her cool over the incessant crying of the child, longing for her mother.
Cumbum Collector Dr K S Palanisami suspended the anganwadi worker Jaya and cook Bharathi (for not preventing the scalding) on Wednesday after Jaya confessed to Royappanpathy police sub-inspector Muthupandi that she branded the child with a red-hot iron ladle. The child has 11 scalds on the body and face.
The girl’s mother Murugeswari, a farm worker who has been living with her mother Muthammal after her husband Sasikumar deserted her four years ago, said: “Since we wanted my daughter to grow independent of me, we admitted her to the anganwadi at Nehru Colony, a kilometre away from our house, 10 days ago, though there are two centres nearby. Moreover, Jaya is a relative and we believed that she would take care of my daughter better,” she said.
Since the child was crying everyday when the mother left the centre, Murugeswari thought she would be alright and left for work on Monday. But when she picked up the child in the evening, she saw the burns and questioned Jaya, who said the child had fallen into a drain. However, when she learnt that the child had been branded, she approached the police.
On Wednesday, Nagaprabha, district project officer of Integrated Child Development Scheme, also conducted an inquiry. “Based on Nagaprabha’s report, we will initiate further action,” the collector said.
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