Madhya Pradesh: Morena couple arrested for strangulating newborn girl to death
Police inspector Ajay Channa said the couple, Anju Rawat and Shailendra Rawat, have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 302 (murder) for female infanticide
A newborn girl’s parents were arrested on Thursday for allegedly strangulating her at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena, a police officer said.
Police inspector Ajay Channa said the couple, Anju Rawat and Shailendra Rawat, have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 302 (murder) for female infanticide.
“Anju gave birth to the baby girl four days ago in Morena district hospital. The baby was admitted to a Special Newborn Care Unit [SNCU] of the hospital. On Wednesday afternoon, Anju took the baby out of the SNCU ward to feed her. But when she did not return after an hour, the staff nurse called the father of the baby. Shailendra said they would not return as the baby has died,” said Channa.
Anshul Tomar, the doctor in charge, sensed something amiss and informed the police and also sent the baby’s body for post-mortem. “In the preliminary post-mortem report, the cause of death was found to be strangulation.”
Police said they were interrogating the couple to know why they killed the baby.
Police superintendent Anurag Sujaniya said the carelessness of the hospital administration has also come to light. “Why did they allow the mother to take the baby outside the ward when there is a feeding room inside the ward?”
