By IANS,
New Delhi: In a story that has shocked the nation, a two-year-old abandoned and battered baby girl continued to be in a critical condition at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Friday even as doctors said a woman had turned up claiming to be her relative. The police said the hunt for baby’s real parents was on.
The doctors at AIIMS said even though there has been some improvement in the baby’s condition, the girl may not be able to recover soon.
“There has been a transition from ventilator to oxygen tube. Though there is some movement in eyes and hands, she is still unconscious,” a doctor said, adding: “The kind of mental and physical trauma she has gone through is enormous and she may not recover soon”.
Forensic experts are now examining the wounds on baby Falak’s body.
“A woman came claiming to be her ‘mausi’ (mother’s sister) and said the baby was kidnapped,” Deepak Agrwal, assistant professor, neurosurgery, told IANS.
The doctor said the baby’s condition had “improved slightly” and she was off the ventilator for now.
“The child has been taken off the ventilator for now, but she may be put on ventilator again,” the doctor said. “She is severely injured, and has suffered critical head injuries. Her future is uncertain,” he said.
Moved by the plight of the baby, Chief Minister offered all possible help to the girl.
“The Delhi government will support whatever her needs are, we will fulfil her needs. We are waiting for the medical report, let it come,” Dikshit told reporters.
Falak was admitted to the hospital last week with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull and a clot on the right side of her brain. The baby also had human bite marks all over her body.
“Statistics show in cases of head injury, 30 percent patients die in hospital, 30 percent remain in a vegetative state for the rest of their life and only 20-30 percent are fine enough to take care of their basic needs, but in that case too they are impaired mentally,” Agrwal said.
A doctor from the hospital had earlier told IANS that the chances of the baby’s survival were “50-50”.
She was brought to the hospital by 15-year-old Mahi Gupta, who claimed to be her mother. The teenager has been sent to a juvenile home.
Delhi Police are trying to find her parents. Sources from police told IANS that special teams have been sent to different states to trace the parents.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has ordered a detailed investigation in the case and asked for a factual report from the police in 15 days.
Meanwhile, politicians and women activist deplored the ghastly incident.
“The tragic thing is that such cases are no rare and occur very often in our country and child sexual abuse is all the worse because we have no social infrastructure to support a child in distress,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahnawaz Hussain said: “It is inhumane and stringent action should be against the culprits…”