Have never seen a case like this, say doctors treating baby abused relentlessly

New Delhi: It is an intense experience for the doctors who are monitoring a two-year-old baby girl whose head was apparently beaten against a wall, and whose arms were broken by whoever abused her.  "This is the trauma centre," said Dr Sumit Sinha at Delhi's AIIMS hospital. "We see bad cases on a daily basis. But I have never seen this kind of a 'battered baby condition... with the intention of injury." (Read: Ten facts about Baby Falak)

Those who have been monitoring the infant had some cause for celebration today. Falak - or "the sky" - as she has been christened by her care-givers, was taken off the ventilator. She still has human bite marks; the damage to her brain from her assaulter cannot be reversed. Her "battered baby syndrome" suggests she was abused by a close relative. But doctors say her chances of survival have improved marginally. And the Delhi Chief Minister has promised long-term assistance and supervision.

While doctors and nurses try to heal the baby, the Delhi Police is trying to untangle the maze of people among who she was passed around. Three people have been detained by the Delhi Police and are reportedly being put through DNA tests.

The baby was brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on the 18th of this month by a 15-year-old girl, who allegedly told doctors that Falak was her baby, and that her injuries were the result of a fall from her bed. "The claims made by the girl who brought this child to us do not match with the injuries seen on the child's body. So we immediately informed the police," said Dr MC Mishra, who is supervising Falak's case at the hospital.

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The teen has been placed in a juvenile home, and has been interviewed at length by members of the Child Welfare Committee. She reportedly told them she has been sexually abused by a man she eloped with last year. Medical tests to determine her condition will be reported on the 31st of this month. Doctors say her abuse may have traumatized the teen into battering the baby she was looking after. But how or why Falak was with her remains a mystery for now.

The Delhi Police believes that the teen's boyfriend got the baby from a woman he knew who in turn had been entrusted with Falak by a woman who works as a domestic helper and is possibly her biological mother. The man involved has reportedly left the city for Mumbai - he is allegedly married and has moved back in with his family there.

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