How far would you go to protect your child? One mother's fear for her daughter's safety has become a shackle for the seven-year-old. Day and night, the child remains chained to her cot on the footpath her family calls home. This brutal treatment is the only way her mother could think of to protect her, as she heard how a little girl in Mahim was raped and murdered, after being kidnapped from her pavement dwelling.

The girl's mother, Sapna Kaur, said the seven-year-old would get into all kinds of trouble. "I was already upset about her mischiefs. She can't sit still for a minute. She is so naughty, she would fight all the time with her classmates and not focus on studies. So last year, after completing Std II, she stopped going to school," said Sapna.