Child welfare body to decide on girl’s custody today

Menaka Thakur, the seven-year-old girl from Dharavi, who had been allegedly beaten up and branded by her stepmother, will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Dongri on Friday morning, following which a decision will be taken about her possession, the police said.

Menaka Thakur, the seven-year-old girl from Dharavi, who had been allegedly beaten up and branded by her stepmother, will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Dongri on Friday morning, following which a decision will be taken about her possession, the police said.

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“After the child probation officer of the CWC submits a report about the child’s condition on Friday, a decision will be taken if the child should be handed over to her grandparents who live in Bihar or whether she should be admitted to a childcare centre in the city,” said Dhanajay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner of police, zone 5.

Menaka’s stepmother, Aarti Thakur, who was initially arrested on charges of voluntarily causing hurt and showing cruelty to a minor, was booked after Menaka’s medical report showed serious injuries.

Menaka’s father, Sujith had brought her to the city from Muzzafarpur to get her educated in a school in Mumbai.

Aarti, however, made the child do household chores and beat her up when she could not perform the chores appropriately, the Dharavi police said.