Army’s ranks of the disgraced swell as sadism falls into the wrongdoing roster.
Army’s ranks of the disgraced swell as sadism falls into the wrongdoing roster.
Sanghita Singh & Brajesh Kumar
NEW DELHI: Men in uniform are mandated to protect the defenceless. But seven-year-old Shaurya Balhara may grow up associating such men with unspeakable terror and pain. His own father, Major Lalit Balhara, is accused of torturing Shaurya.
The boy’s ordeal began soon after his mother’s death in 2000. Such was the violence he lived with that not only has his physical and mental development been impaired, but he also has a subdural haematoma (a serious brain injury) and cerebral palsy.
Shaurya is recuperating at his maternal grandparents’ home in Jaipur after a legal battle for custody ensued last year between Major Balhara and Pyare Lal Verma, Shaurya’s grandfather.
“We’ve got indefinite custody of the child,” said Anjali Chaudhary, Shaurya’s mausi. “But we want his permanent custody and Major Balhara severely punished.”
Chaudhary said Shaurya suffered 14 to 15 fractures in the last few years. “His ribs were broken and his head ripped open,” she said. “Ever since my sister passed away, the poor child has been at the receiving end of his father’s wrath. Later his stepmother also joined in.”
After Shaurya’s mother died, the Vermas tried hard to reach out to the child. “Every time some excuse was offered,” Chaudhary said. “Finally, we got an anonymous call from a lady saying Shaurya was being battered and that his life was in danger. So, we approached the Lawyers Collective (a Delhi NGO).”
The Vermas filed a writ petition in the Delhi high court last year. The court asked a medical team to investigate the case, said Rashi Prasad, a legal officer of the NGO.
A committee of doctors from the AIIMS reported that the child suffers from ‘battered baby syndrome’. It said his injuries were caused not by accidents, as claimed by his father, but by beatings and torture.
The Lawyers Collective is following up on the criminal prosecution to get the Balharas arraigned for attempted murder, among other charges. An FIR has been lodged at the Delhi Cantonment police station. Police said they have received the medical report saying the child was battered while in his father’s care. “We will file a charge sheet in the next month and half,” an officer said.
But Balhara’s lawyer Narendra Dutt told DNA, “I haven’t seen the medical report and cannot comment on it. Shaurya’s grandfather wanted his younger daughter to be married to Lalit, but Lalit did not honour that. In fact, the child has been unwell since birth. He later fell from the sofa. He was never battered by Lalit or his present wife Preeti.”
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