Three days after undergo ing surgery for drainage of an abscess at the Goa Medical College (GMC), four-year-old Sahish munches on an apple as his paternal grandmoth er and uncle anxiously await the Child Welfare Committee’s (CWC) deci sion on whether they can take him home. Despite the ordeal he has faced, the little boy continues to smile. “I was not there to know what happened. His mother took him to her sister’s house in Sanque lim for Diwali vacations. From there, we were told, he was rushed to her brother’s house in Cur chorem and later taken to Hospicio Hospital,” recalls the child’s grandmother. She adds, “We received a call from his maternal uncle saying he was sick and we should urgent ly come to Hospicio. We were shocked. When we reached the hospi tal, we were told he was taken to GMC, and we rushed there only to see him in this state. I can not say what happened to him because I was not there, but I want the best for him.” The boy’s uncle, a taxi driver and father of four, echoed her concern. “Whatever the authori ties do, I hope it is for the good of the child. What ever happened is unbe lievable,” he said.
Sahish’s grandmother and uncle said his father works in the Gulf, and that Sahish usually stayed with them and his mother in Canacona. “I never doubted anything would go wrong with him when he left for his holiday,” said his dis traught grandmother. Canacona Police have registered a complaint against the child’s mother under the Goa Children’s Act for assault and abuse. “We are yet to arrest the mother, though a case has been registered. She stays at Poinguinim in Canacona,” confirmed Canacona Police Inspector Harish Raut Desai. The South Goa Police are investigating the case on two fronts — the crime committed against the boy and deter mining whether he was adopted, as alleged by certain so cial media activists. “The Canacona Police have registered a case against the mother, and the Investigating Officer is determining whether the boy is adopted or not. They belong to the Dhangar community. The report will then be presented to the Child Welfare Committee,” informed Harish Madkaikar, Acting Superintendent of Police (SP), South Goa. According to hospital records, the child was brought to GMC’s casualty late at night on October 31 and admitted into the ward around 4 a.m. on November 1. Reports ac cessed by O Heraldo suggest that the child’s mother ap peared to be suffering from mental distress. Adoption officials have clarified that no record of Sahish exists on the government’s Mission Vatsalya portal. “Any body needing to adopt a child needs to go through a thor ough process that includes inspection of the place where the child will live, and there is no reference of this child on the portal,” said Yasin Kalagar, Programme Manager, State Adoption Resource Agency. “The police were there when my officer went to check about the child and they promised to share the report once the investigation is over. Ultimately, the CWC will take a call,” assured Jyoti Desai, Director, Department of Women and Child Development. South Goa District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Amanda Noronha, who visited Sahish on Monday, reported that he is recovering well. “He is recovering well, but we need to know from the police whether he is adopted or not for the CWC to decide whether he needs to be kept at a shelter,” Noronha told O Heraldo. “I have prepared a report after my visit and presented one to the CWC and will be submitting another to the Col lector tomorrow. Everyone wants the good of the child, and it will be the police investigation that will ultimately enable the CWC to decide the fate of the boy,” she added. As officials work to determine the circumstances behind the abuse and clarify adoption claims, Sahish’s innocent need for love stands out — as he gleefully finishes his ap ple, smiling through recovery.
