The Agona East District Police Command has released a mentally challenged man who smashed the head of a two-year-old girl on the ground repeatedly at Agona Duakwa in the Agona East district of the Central region.
Residents were expecting the suspect to be arraigned or sent to a psychiatric hospital, but to their dismay, they saw him loitering around in the community a few days after the arrest.
His family are leaders of the community, so residents believe the relatives of the suspect might have influenced the police’s decision to let him loose.
The attack on the toddler is not the first assault by the mentally deranged man, but his latest action has left the young girl on the brink of death.
According to the mother of the victim, Abigail Bonko, the suspect met the girl in front of her house, held her, and started smashing her head to the ground several times unprovoked.
“I was cooking, and while my daughter was coming to me in the kitchen, the mentally ill suspect met her, held her neck, and started hitting her head on the ground several times. In the process, blood started oozing profusely from her nose and ears, so we rushed her to the Duayaw Hospital, but they couldn’t contain the situation and transferred us to Winneba. We were again transferred to Korle Bu for treatment due to my daughter’s condition,” the mother said.
The woman says she fears her daughter may lose her sight if she’s unable to get money to pay for her treatment.
Therefore, she is calling on the public to assist her with the hospital bills.
The development has irked community members who listed the previous ‘sins’ of the suspect, including beating an old woman on a farm.
A reaction resulted in the arrest of the residents instead of the man who attacked the woman without provocation.
“He is the junior brother of the ‘abusuapanin’ in the community, and any attempt to retaliate after terrorizing the residents results in police persecution due to the influence of the brother,” a resident lamented.
“Pleas by the residents to the mentally challenged man’s family to keep him away from the community to release them from their fears have proven futile,” another resident added.
Thus, the residents have decided to equally retaliate if he dares attack anyone again, regardless of the consequences, saying, “We have run out of patience.”