‘Battered’ baby dies, parents undergo psychiatric examination

A three month old girl admitted to KEM Hospital, Parel, last week after it was suspected that she was battered, succumbed to injuries on Monday.

The parents of the victim, Ahuti Joshi, admitted her to the hospital with severe head and abdominal injuries. An X-ray and CT scan of the child revealed she had multiple fractures on her skull. "The paediatrics team conducted various examinations and studied the nature of the child's injuries; they suspect that she was battered. Also, the parents were not able to give a plausible explanation for the injuries," said Dr. Shubhangi Parkar, academic dean and head of pyschiatry department, KEM Hospital. The girl died of a cardiac arrest around 1 pm on Monday, doctors said. The body has been sent for a post-mortem.

Meanwhile, the girl's parents have been undergoing examination by KEM's psychiatry department. "They have been non-cooperative and have no proper explanation for the child's injuries. We are trying to evaluate them for any psychological problems or any social problems such as reservations about having a girl child," said Parkar. Ahuti's twin had died under mysterious circumstances when she was 12 days old, doctors said.

However, police said as of now the case is only of accidental death and they were probing all angles. Bhagwan Chat, senior police inspector, Borivali (West), said, "We are awaiting the post-mortem report. The doctors are probing the internal bleeding angle. We are looking at all aspects, including the fact that the babies were born premature."

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