Srinagar:
In an apparent case of asphyxiation, a newborn baby girl died while her parents and brother are battling for life at a hospital here today, police said.
The body of the 40-day-old baby was found in the residential quarter of an imam (prayer leader) at Saderbal locality on the outskirts of Srinagar this morning, sources said.
After the locals of the area found that imam Mohammad Ashraf Chasti was not responding to the repeated knocks at his door, they informed the police which immediately rushed to the spot and broke into the house.
Chasti, his wife and their son Abrar-ul-Haq were found unconscious in the room and were immediately shifted to nearby Soura Medical institute where they are undergoing treatment, police said, adding their condition was stated to be serious.
Chasti, a resident of Bilwal-Dardgund village of Pulwama was an imam at Masjid Abu Hanifa at Saderbal and was residing in a nearby residential quarter along with his wife Rubeena and their children.
Preliminary investigations suggest that it seemed that the family had kept a gas heater in the room and failed to switch it off before going to sleep, they added.
Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the winter at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius this morning.