VIBHA VERMA
CAMURLIM: It was a traumatic time for the three-year-old boy when Anganwadi helper Pranali Panchali not only burnt his cheeks with a hot spoon last Friday, but dragged him to the wall, while the teacher allegedly watched. Worse, the boy was not given medical aid for nearly 45 minutes until his parents took him to the nearest primary health centre.
The burning sensation refuses to subside and the boy cries in pain whenever he attempts to speak or chew food. His older brother, also studying in the same Anganwadi at Sateri-Camurlim, spoke about this unspeakable horror of what happened.
“She took him behind the curtain and pressed a hot spoon on his cheek. He cried even louder. He was kept in the Anganwadi till our parents came and took him to the hospital,” the brother, one of nearly 10-odd witnesses in the case, told Herald.
Panchali has been known for physically abusing children by assaulting them with a wooden ruler. “She beats everyone with the patti (ruler). My brother was crying that’s why she pulled him behind the curtains and burnt his cheeks. He was crying in pain but nobody took him to the doctor,” the brother added. Panchali was arrested for offences under Goa Children’s Act on Monday evening.
Herald, on inquiring with other children, found that Panchali would allegedly lock most of them either in a cupboard or toilet.
The mother, who appeared before the inquiry officer of the Women and Child Department, revealed that the Anganwadi employees did not bother to provide medical aid to her son even though he wept in pain. She also exposed the way Panchali tried to cover up the case by lying.
The helper initially claimed that the boy was wounded on being hit by the school bag and later changed her version saying the spoon attack was by mistake while cooking the meal. The mother also stated that Pachali tried to hush up the case by influencing them to tell the police that the incident never happened in the Anganwadi.
The midday meal is cooked in the same room where 15-odd students are enrolled, with just one curtain dividing the space. The incident has shocked the state administration leading for a call for an inquiry.
