Two-year-old baby Falak still critical; hunt on for key suspects

New Delhi: Doctors monitoring two-year-old baby Falak at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) say her condition continues to be critical.  Falak - or "the sky" - as she has been christened by her care-givers, was taken off the ventilator yesterday, but she is still unconscious. She was admitted to the hospital on January 18 with multiple fractures in her arms and severe head injuries possibly caused by being thrown against a wall. The baby also had human bite marks all over her body.

Baby Falak was brought to the hospital by a 15-year-old girl, who allegedly told doctors that she was her mother, and that the baby's injuries were the result of a fall from her bed. The doctors at the hospital informed the police as the claims made by her did not match with the injuries seen on the child's body. (Read: Ten facts about Baby Falak)

The teenager has been placed in a juvenile home, and has been interviewed at length by members of the Child Welfare Committee. She has reportedly told them that a man she had been staying with brought baby Falak a month back to be raised as their child. She has also alleged that she has been sexually abused by that man and that she had eloped with him last year. Medical tests to determine the teenager's 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. The teenager's father will also be questioned by the police today as the girl has alleged that she left her home because of ill-treatment by her father.

The Delhi Police believes that the teen's boyfriend - now the key suspect in the case - 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. An FIR will now be registered against him. A Delhi Police team has been sent to Mumbai to find him. He is allegedly married and has moved back in with his family there. A massive hunt is also on to find out the real parents of the child and the people who had handed over the baby to the main suspect. Three people have so far been detained by the Delhi Police and are reportedly being put through DNA tests.

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While the Delhi Police is trying to untangle the maze of people among who the baby was passed around, doctors treating her say they have never seen a case like this. "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." The baby 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.

Meanwhile, two women have reportedly approached the hospital claiming the child is related to them. "I have directed both the women to police. Both claimed that the child is their relative," said a neurosurgeon with AIIMS. However, police said nobody has approached them so far for the child's custody.

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The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has condemned the incident and has ordered a detailed investigation. It has also asked for a factual report from the police in 15 days.

Moved by the case, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has promised long-term assistance and supervision and all possible help to the girl. (With Inputs from Agencies)