‘It’s a miracle’: After 9 days in ICU, battered Vasai boy returns home

Four-year-old Vignesh Kondhare was brutally assaulted by a neighbour to settle a grudge with his father

Mumbai: Nine days after he was brutally assaulted by a neighbour, four-year-old Vignesh Kondhare returned to his Vasai home from a hospital on Wednesday evening, a moment his family had feared might never come.

‘It’s a miracle’: After 9 days in ICU, battered Vasai boy returns home

The March 30 assault, captured on CCTV, showed the accused, Sandeep Pawar, dragging the child out of a parked autorickshaw by his legs, swinging him in the air and repeatedly slamming him onto the ground, before dragging him up a flight of stairs. Police said Pawar attacked the boy to settle a grudge with his father over a financial dispute dating back two years.

Vignesh’s parents called his survival a “miracle”. “These last few days were hell for us. I am just thanking my stars to see him alive,” said his mother, Sushma Kondhare, 30.

Vignesh suffered severe head injuries and was admitted to the ICU at Wockhardt Hospital in Mira Road, where he underwent surgery. His treatment cost around ₹3 lakh. Vasai MLA Sneha Dubey-Pandit facilitated ₹2 lakh in financial aid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, while the hospital offered a 20% concession.

Following an improvement in his health, Vignesh was discharged on Wednesday evening. “These nine days felt like hell for us. However, the fact that my son has returned home safe and sound is our greatest joy,” said Vignesh’s father, Atul Kondhare, 32. “The hospital has called us for an assessment and follow-up after five days,” he added.

Pawar has been arrested and booked for attempt to murder and causing grievous harm under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act. He remains in police custody.

Balkrishna Ghadigaonkar, senior police inspector at the Vasai police station, said that Atul Kondhare, who is in the construction business, had worked on Pawar’s kitchen two years ago, and the two had argued over financials. Pawar had nursed a grudge against Kondhare since then.

Pawar and the Kondhares live in the Anupam Ghar Sankul building in Vasai. The assault took place when Vignesh was playing with other children within the housing society’s premises at 8 pm on March 30. Vignesh wandered into a parked rickshaw and sat inside it. Upon noticing this, Pawar grabbed the boy and proceeded to assault him. The incident has been captured on the housing society’s CCTV.

Neighbours who witnessed the attack alerted the boy’s family. Vignesh was initially taken to multiple hospitals but was turned away due to the severity of his injuries. He was finally admitted to Wockhardt Hospital around 11 pm.