This horrific incident has happened very recently. I cannot believe this can happen in 2004. The story may be gruesome to read but the photo of half burnt 8 year old boy which appeared in papers recently was too shocking. The poor boy is burnt very bad and doctors have suggested a plastic surgery. It look like straight out of iraq . I am sickened by these so called "Royals". ____________________________________________________ Royal couple torture 8-yr-old in Orissa Monday, 14 June , 2004, 11:03 Bhubaneswar: In a shocking incident, an eight-year-old child was tortured for months by a royal family in Kharial in western Orissa. The incident, however, came to light following intervention of a local NGO which demanded action against Bhubaneswar Singdeo and his wife Puspalat for causing grievous injury to their domestic help Prashant Mahak. Nuapada Superintendent of Police Madan Khatua on Sunday confirmed that the police have registered cases against the royal couple under section 342, 324 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Police said the boy, hailing from Polsara in south Orissa, had been staying with the royal couple for the last ten months. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who described the incident as terrible, assured that stringent action would be taken against the culprits. He also announced that the State Government would bear the medical expenses of the child who had sustained severe burn injuries. Orissa Minister of State for Labour and Employment Pradeep Nayak has directed the District Labour Officer to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report. The incident had sent shockwaves in the entire Nuapada district. Official sources said a team from the police headquarters would conduct an inquiry into the incident. _________________________________________________ Royal couple in child torture case missing By Bibhuti Mishra Wednesday, 23 June , 2004, 09:57 Scion of Khariar royal family Bhubaneswar Prasad Singhdeo and his wife Puspalata Singhdeo have been absconding after a child torture case hit the headlines. They had been accused of torturing their 8-year-old servant boy Prashant Nahak. Nahak was brought to work in the palace 'Lal Mahal' from Puspalata's native village Sodaka in Ganjam on August 23 last year. But he was badly treated. Puspalata has been accused of pouring boiling water on him and making him squat on a burning heater. The boy has severe burn injuries and medical reports have also found fractures in his frail body. A case under 'Juvenile Justice, Care and Protection Act 2000' was registered after the Officer-in-charge of Khariar Police station filed an FIR on June 12, 2004. The two-member Crime Branch team that investigated the allegations of child torture has found prima facie evidence to support the allegations. Teams have been despatched to track down the absconding royal couple who have incidentally filed an anticipatory bail petition at the Orissa High Court. The accused have contested that they have been falsely implicated because of political rivalry. The petition cites that the child was suffering from malnutrition and injuries and was treated at a Mission hospital where Puspalata seems to have given him blood. After Prashant Nahak's torture case came to light, a few other children who had worked at 'Lal Mahal' earlier have also come out against Puspalata. Nina of Junani village, who worked at the palace, said Puspalata was ill-tempered and would throw hot rice gruel on her and hit her at every pretext. Another boy, Minaketana of Gadarmunda village, also related a similar tale and said that because of torture, he had escaped some time back _____________________________________________________ Police seal Lal Mahal Statesman News Service CUTTACK, June 24. � Lal Mahal (Khariar Palace), the alleged theatre of the brutal and sensational torture of Prasant Nahak, an eight-year-old orphan, has been sealed by the Orissa police. The move was a part of the attachment of the properties of Mr Bhubaneswar Prasad Singhdeo and his wife Mrs Pushpalata Singhdeo for �compelling� the royal couple to surrender. A passenger bus owned by the couple was also seized by the Khariar police. Crime Branch sources here said the process of attachment of property of the royal couple was initiated yesterday with the seizure of a car and two passenger buses. The seizures were made in pursuance of the directions of the Court of the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) at Khariar in the event of the failure of Mr Bhubaneswar Singhdeo to produce himself before the Court. The Khariar police had registered a case under sections 342, 324, 326, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act against the royal couple on 12 June. But they have since been absconding in order to evade arrest ______________________________________________________ Royal couple under scrutiny for torture June 15, 2004 19:58 IST Lying on a bed in the surgical ward of the M K C G Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, 8-year-old Prasanta Nahak evokes sympathy among whoever comes across him. An orphan, Prasanta has been in the limelight following allegations that a couple, belonging to the erstwhile royal family of Khariar, had tortured the boy. Police have registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and also the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act against the couple, Bhubaneswar Singh Deo and Pushpalata, and the government had asked the Crime Branch to inquire into the matter. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has described it as a 'terrible incident' and promised stringent action against the culprits. People drop in sometimes to have a glimpse of the sickly child being treated for his several wounds allegedly inflicted over a period of time. Prasanta, who belongs to Sodaka village in Ganjam district, used to water the plants, wash clothes, shopped for household items and at times cooked in the house of the Singh Deo couple. "I tried to do all the work but if I committed any mistake I was thrashed," he sobbed. "We had sent him to Khariar so he can stand on his own legs, but have found him in such condition," one of the boy's relatives said. Intra-venous fluids were being administered to Prasanta who appeared traumatised. "Once I was asked to sit on a heater, which was hot. I cried out in pain but no one listened....," he said recounting his ordeal at Khariar. He was first treated at the government hospital at Polsara before being admitted to the hospital in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening. Doctors hope the child will recover fully. He is suffering from prolonged malnutrition and multiple injuries. It will take a long time for the wounds to heal. "Though his condition is serious, he is out of danger," said Dr S Mohapatra, who has been attending to him. Ganjam District Collector Sanjib Kumar Mishra who met the child and his relatives at the hospital said he would be treated in Berhampur for at least a month with the cost being borne by the district Red Cross Fund. The boy's relatives, however, turned down the offer to rehabilitate the boy at the Banadebi Seva Sadan at Kabisuryanagar. "Now I have thought of writing to the SOS Children's Village at Bhubaneswar to take care of him after he is discharged from the hospital," the collector said. Meanwhile, the Indian Society for Rural Development (ISRD), an NGO working for eradication of child labour, demanded stringent action against those responsible for the boy's condition. This case has brought to light the manner in which people were treating their domestic help, ISRD convener Sudhir Sabat said in a statement. Prafulla Samantara, convener of Lok Shakti Abhiyan, in a statement in Berhampur, urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take up the matter. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail