Police arrested a New York Queens couple for beating and starving its 12-year-old daughter for 2 years.
According to the police officials, the couple, Rajesh Ranot and step-mother of the child Sheetal Ranot, subjected their daughter Maya Ranot to "unspeakable physical abuse" by starving her and beating her with a metal handle and baseball bat. The beatings severely bruised the child who is now hospitalised for surgery.
The New York City Administration for Children's Services filed an abuse petition against the father and step-mother in a family court following the investigation. Commissioner Gladys Carrion said the investigation saved Maya's life and made sure that she and her siblings were now safe from further abuse.
"This horrific case highlights the necessity of, and reinforces our commitment to, collaborating with our partner city agencies... to ensure that New York City children remain safe," Carrion said.
Sheetal was arraigned Aug 1 on first- and second-degree assault and child endangerment charges while Rajesh, the child's biological father, was charged with unlawful imprisonment and lesser assault charges, reports NBC New York.
Sheetal is currently being held in jail and her bail has been set for $60,000. If convicted she might land up behind bars for up to 33 years. Rajesh too remains in jail against a $25,000 bail.
According to the police reports, Sheetal constantly hit Maya Ranot. She also locked Maya inside her bedroom and starved her for days. Officials said that the torture began sometime in December 2012 and lasted till May 2014.
"Thank God," said one of Rajesh Ranot's former in-laws, reports New York Daily News. "It's about time they locked him up. Everyone is afraid of him . . . . How could he do this to his own daughter?"
Doctors treating Maya said she was underweight at just 58 pounds. "The criminal charges allege that this young victim was subjected to years of unspeakable physical abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother," District Attorney Richard Brown said.
He further said the child did not open up about the torture to the officials fearing that they would take away her younger stepsiblings and put them into foster care. "If the authorities had not intervened it is not too hard to imagine that this case would have ended in the child's death," Brown said, reports The New York Times
Next court date for the couple is set for Aug. 13.
