A Shawnee man is facing child abuse charges after his 5-year-old was allegedly left in a cold bathtub and suffered severe hypothermia.
Ramayan Maniktala, 27, was arrested in late January and charged with abuse of a child under 6, as well as aggravated child endangerment. Children in the house told detectives they were made to take cold showers and baths as punishment, according to documents filed in Johnson County District Court.
On March 4, 2022, emergency crews responded to a home on the 7400 block of West 56th Terrace in Overland Park on a report of a child suffering from a seizure.
Medical personnel found the child, referred to in court documents as A.M., in cardiac arrest and extremely cold to the touch. A medic at the scene stated his temperature was 78 degrees, according to the documents.
A.M. was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
During interviews with the Kansas Department for Children and Families and detectives, Maniktala said he made his son take a shower after he had soiled himself. Maniktala told authorities he started the water at room temperature and left to do some work within earshot.
The defendant told detectives that at some point, A.M. put the stopper down. He claimed the water was only four to five inches deep and estimated the child was in the shower or bath from about 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., prosecutors say.
Maniktala said he found the child having a seizure in lukewarm water, drained the tub and called 911. The defendant told police he has Raynaud’s, a condition that makes it difficult for him to regulate temperature.
During interviews with investigators, A.M. stated he’s made to take cold baths or showers when he steals food from the kitchen, and he doesn’t like it. He said the water makes his body feel “coldy cold,” according to court documents.
The boy said if he gets out before he’s supposed to, he has take another one, prosecutors claim.
A.M.’s sister allegedly told investigators that Maniktala makes them take cold showers and baths as punishment, putting ice into the tub with a big cup. Afterward, A.M.’s skin looks blue and white. She said A.M. has scabs on his back, and they get their hair pulled and hit on the head.
A teacher at one of the children’s school advised authorities that, prior to the incident, A.M. had come to school shivering and crying. Prosecutors say one of the children told the school that he’d been made to take a bath because he’d had an accident.
The child was allegedly cold to the touch that day and trembled for about 30 minutes.
Maniktala was arrested Jan. 26 and released on $50,000 bond a day later. He is set to appear in court for scheduling March 22.
It’s unclear whether the Department for Children and Families had been involved with the family prior to the incident.
Police did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for an update on the child’s well being Friday.