Woman was unhappy when husband brought child to city

Aarti Thakur, the 24-year-old woman who allegedly beat up and branded her seven-year-old stepdaughter Menaka for more than two months, was not too happy when her husband decided to bring the child to live with them two months ago.

Aarti Thakur, the 24-year-old woman who allegedly beat up and branded her seven-year-old stepdaughter Menaka for more than two months, was not too happy when her husband decided to bring the child to live with them two months ago.

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Menaka had been living with her maternal grandmother at Muzzafarpur in Bihar ever since her mother passed away a few years ago, police said.

Senior inspector of Dharavi police Ashok Survegandh said, “Aarti, who has two daughters with Sumit Thakur, Menaka’s father, did not want to look after the child. So, when Menaka came to stay with them, Aarti started making her do all the housework. And, whenever the child said she was tired, Aarti would get irritated and beat her up.”

An officer from the Dharavi police requesting anonymity said, “Sumit claims he called Menaka to the city to stay with them so that she could be admitted to a school here. We are verifying if that was the real reason or whether they intended for her to be a maid at their house after she came here.”

The police are yet to interrogate Sumit, said the senior inspector of the Dharavi police.

Shobha Katke, one of the Thakurs’ neighbours, told HT, “Aarti is very protective of her two daughters and took the utmost care of them. We feel Aarti treated Menaka that way because she was her stepdaughter.” Najma Khan, another local said, “On most occasions Aarti had the last word in the house, and Sumit agreed with her.”