Baby Falak’s case in Delhi shocked the nation, but little did Bengalureans anticipate a similar story in their midst. Two-month old Neha Afreen is battling for life at the Vani Vilas Hospital after being allegedly battered by her father, Umar Farooq, 37, accused of trying to kill her thrice, all because he wanted a son.
Doctors treating Afreen say her condition is critical, but they are trying their best to save her. “Afreen was referred to us from another hospital with complaints of vomiting blood and breathing difficulty. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Sunday and on examination we found she had some teeth bite marks near her bottom. Now, we have also learnt that she has severe internal brain haemorrhage,” says Dr Premlata of the hospital’s paediatric department, adding that Afreen is still unconscious and has been put on ventilator support.
“The next 48 hours are critical. Her condition is being continuously monitored. Afreen also has a lot of injury marks on her skin where she was either bitten or hit by something. It also appears that at some point an attempt was made to smother with a pillow,” the doctor discloses.
Afreen’s grandmother, Makbul Bi, who was at Vani Vilas Hospital taking care of her, while her mother, Reshma talked to the police, said her daughter was married to Farooq, a car painter and resident of Kushalnagar, a year-and-four-months ago. “But only now have we got to know that Farooq beat up Reshma every now and then. After Afreen was born he constantly fought with her saying he wanted a boy as his elder brother had two sons,” she recounts.
Once he tried to hurt Afreen after sending away Reshma on the pretext of cooking for his parents who lived on the ground floor, she claims. “He bit her and shook the makeshift cloth cradle so hard that she was hurt very badly on the forehead as it came in contact with the wall nearby. When I asked Reshma what had happened to the child as there were bruises around her hip and forehead, she told me that an insect had bitten her,” Makbul adds.
Farooq allegedly attacked Afreen while she was sleeping besides Reshma. The woman woke upto the loud wailing of her child and was shocked beyond words to find her husband beating her mercilessly. Reshma managed to snatch her daughter from her husband, but says it was then that she realised his intention to kill her as he thought of a girl child as a bad omen. On April 4, when Reshma woke up at around 4 am, she was petrified to see a pillow and a bedspread thrown on the baby’s face. Removing them, she noticed that her husband had stuffed her one-metre-long duppatta into the baby’s mouth.