Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday visited the 7-year-old boy who has been battling for his life at the Kolenchery Medical College Hospital after being brutally assaulted by his mother’s partner in Thodupuzha earlier this week. The CM spoke to the doctors and the medical authorities at the hospital and instructed them to do everything in their capacity to save the child.

Speaking to media at the hospital, the Chief Minister said that the victim’s condition was still critical and he continued to be on ventilator support. The government is also bearing all expenses of the boy’s treatment. A medical board has also been set up to monitor the boy’s health, according to reports.

On Thursday, the accused, Arun Anand, who was the victim’s mother’s partner, had assaulted the boy, leaving him with a fracture on his skull, ruptured lungs and a head injury with internal bleeding.

The police attested Arun on Friday evening. In their statement to the media, the police confirmed that the accused used to regularly assault the child using his walking stick.

The arrest came after the victim’s 4-year-old brother revealed to the Child Welfare Commission authorities that the accused had attacked his brother and that it was not an accident as his mother had stated before she was taken into custody for questioning.

As per the victim’s mother’s statement, the boy was supposed to ensure that his younger brother urinated before getting into bed. On Thursday, he slept off without taking his brother to the bathroom. When the accused noticed this, he assaulted the boy.

Following the assault, the victim was first rushed to a private hospital in Thodupuzha in the early hours of Thursday and later shifted to the Kolenchery Medical College.

“We registered a case against Arun Anand under IPC including 303 (attempt to murder), and the Juvenile Justice Act. The accused has a criminal background and was previously accused in a murder case. We are collecting the details of other cases against the accused,” Thodupuzha DYSP KP Jose told TNM.

The police have also registered a POCSO case against the accused, as the four-year-old revealed that Arun had been also sexually abusing him.