Mumbai: The Naupada police is set to arrest a 22-year-old woman and her family who were involved in killing the woman’s one-day-old infant. The accused had thrown her baby down the commode of a public toilet. Sources said that the infant girl died a few minutes after the incident. She was allegedly born of an illicit relationship. The police is currently also tracing the infant’s father.
The incident had occurred on December 19 and on primary investigation, the Naupada police in Thane had managed to trace the woman. The accused allegedly said in her statement to the police that the baby girl was born out of wedlock. According to the police, the family of the accused had known about the woman’s pregnancy and the infant’s death but are feigning ignorance. “We strongly believe that her family knew about the incident and they helped her in getting rid of the baby,” a police official said.
According to the police, the complainant Chandrakant Tembe (48), a resident of Naupada and ward president of Shiv-Sena ward number 38 said, “On Saturday afternoon I received a call from my friend Sanjay More claiming that a crowd has gathered near the Shiv Sena ward number 38’s office. I immediately called the police and reached the spot to see a baby girl lying in the hole of the public toilet. The head of the baby girl was inside the toilet hole, maybe the accused tried to flush it. The police along with fire brigade rescued the infant and sent her to Thane civil hospital where she was declared dead.”
Shirish Yadav, sub-inspector from Naupada police station said, “During our probe we came to know through sources that some people felt the accused was pregnant but her family members keep denying it. Later, we looked into every hospital whether any pregnant woman was admitted there. Doctors from a civil hospital told us there is one girl admitted but they were not certain if she delivered a baby but she kept claiming she is suffering from hemorrhoidal bleeding. They said they did not believe her so they did not start treatment.”
“Around 5pm, we received information about the accused. She was found missing from her residence. We were also tipped off that she could be in Thane civil hospital. When we reached the hospital, we saw her sitting in front of a doctor,” added Mr Yadav.
During investigation, the woman claimed that she works in a beauty parlour in Thane and was in relationship with a certain Bhoir for the last eight years. “Bhoir got married but he continued to be in a relationship with the accused and eventually she became pregnant. On the day of the incident i.e. on Dec 19, she started having labour pain around 7 am. She allegedly told her mother about it and the family helped her in delivering the baby and then throwing it into the toilet.
The accused has not spoken clearly about the family’s involvement but we have deduced as much from the neighbours,” said another police officer from Naupada station.
A civic hospital doctor who had interacted with the accused said, “ When we admitted her, she was not in a condition to stand properly. She could not have delivered the baby by herself. She was telling us that something big came out of her genitals. We knew that she was not telling the truth and found the case strange after a check-up. But she is undergoing treatment now.”
A case has been registered at Naupada police and further investigation is on. “We have stationed a woman constable along with her and as soon as she recovers, we will arrest her for killing the baby,” added inspector Yadav.
