A woman accused of burning her five‑year‑old stepdaughter’s genital area has been arrested. In a sick and twisted  act of punishment,  she allegedly seared the little girl with a heated steel spatula after the child wet the bed. The case came to light when the girl’s preschool teacher noticed her struggling to sit during class and reported the matter to authorities.

Policein Kerala, on India’s southwestern Malabar Coast detained the suspect, originally from Bihar, on Thursday. A local court has remanded her to judicial custody for 14 days, pending further investigation. Charges have been filed under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s principal criminal code, which provides strong protections against crimes targeting children. The Child Welfare Committee has taken custody of the victim, whose father is a Nepalese national employed at a local hotel.

Officials confirmed that the girl is receiving medical care and emotional support while inquiries proceed.

Authorities say the investigation is ongoing, with further details expected as the case develops.

This comes just a week after a six-year-old girl tragically died after she was reportedly gang-raped and thrown from a rooftop, also in India. The young victim was rushed to a local hospital following the horrific incident, but despite best efforts, was declared dead upon arrival. The dreadful event took place in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, in November, it was revealed that a 12-year-old girl had died nearly a week after she was allegedly made to perform 100 sit-ups as punishment for arriving late at school. 

On November 8, the young student at a private school in Sativali, Maharashtra, India, was reportedly asked, along with four other students, to do 100 sit-ups after being late to class. Her mother has claimed the exercise was made worse by the fact that she was carrying her school bag on her back during the punishment – a factor she believes led to her daughter’s rapid deterioration in health.

A few days later, the girl was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai, where she died on the night of Friday (November 15).