Palakkad, 9 Jan

A five-year-old girl's private parts were allegedly injured with a hot steel spatula by her stepmother for bedwetting, police said here on Friday.

The incident occurred near Kanjikode in the north Kerala district last week and came to light after the child's Anganwadi teacher noticed that she was having difficulty sitting down in the class, police said.

The Anganwadi teacher informed the police, who arrested the stepmother, a native of Bihar, on Thursday, and she was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

The woman has been booked under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act, police said.

The child, whose father is a citizen of Nepal and works at a hotel, is currently under the care of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), police said.