Bangalore: 3-month-old battered, father arrested

Deepa Balakrishnan & Abhirr V P CNN-IBN | 19 Jun 2013 10:15 pm

Bangalore: As a result of a father's cruel, inhuman and shameful torture, a three-month-old baby is fighting for her life in a Bangalore hospital. The father, who has been arrested, battered his daughter as he wanted a son.

Baby Afreen has a dislocated neck, cigarette burns on the face and a haemorrhage to the brain. The 3 months old has already seen the uglier side of life.

On Sunday, she was admitted to paedeatric intensive care after being allegedly beaten up by her father Umar Farooq in Bangalore.

"I saw that she was having fits on Friday morning and there were marks on Afreen's body. We took her to the hospital and after the scan, we realised that she was beaten up," said Reshma Bhanu, mother of Baby Afreen.

The Bangalore police say Umar repeatedly abused the baby girl because he wanted a son instead. They've booked him for domestic violence and attempt to murder, besides dowry harassment.

"I am really concerned and Afreen's case is only the tip of the iceberg. Why is there no immediate response mechanism?" said Nina P Nayak, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child.

Baby Afreen has been discharged from the ICU to a paedeatric ward. Doctors at the government Vanivilas Hospital now say she will need several weeks to recover.

"They recognised there is a haemotama below the skull and between the brain matter and skull. The baby was kept in the ICU and ventilator. Now the baby has been removed from the ICU," said Dr Some Gowda, Medical Superintendent, Vanivilas Hospital.

Doctors looking after Baby Afreen say that she is out of danger but the question is what happens to the infant after she comes out of the hospital? Will her 19-year-old mother be able to protect her and provide a safe future? After all, there have been at least two other attempts by the father to kill the child.

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