Was it female infanticide?

Usha is epileptic. The attacks started 6-7 years ago, says her family, adding that she was being treated at the same hospital over the past two years. Her gynaecologist said that she had a normal delivery and the baby girl was given to the mother in the post-natal ward.

Something went terribly wrong in the 24-hour span between birth and death. Early in the morning on December 27, the doctor on duty noticed that the previously healthy baby had stopped breathing. An immediate examination revealed that the baby 8212; who had no complications 8212; was dead.

The doctors contacted the police post in the hospital and a medico-legal case was made out. A post mortem was also conducted. The report revealed that 8220;death was due to asphyxia consequent to mechanical obstruction of airways8221;. The doctors said that the three-kg baby was found dead with her eyes closed, and had multiple, small abrasions on her lips, nose and eyes.

Sub-Inspector Mahesh Narayan received the post-mortem report on January 30. A case FIR no. 57/99 was registered only yesterday.

When asked why a murder case was registered nearly two months after the incident, doctors in the hospital speak about money changing hands and attempts being made to hush up the case. However, DCP North S.N. Shrivastava explained: 8220;We have been on the job from day one, as legal proceedings started immediately under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code. We were seeking the legal opinion of the prosecution branch, as it was a new-born baby and there were no other injuries on the body8221;.

At this initial stage the police say they are investigating the case from 8220;all angles8221;. The standard comment means that the police are probing the involvement of the parents as well as a case of hospital negligence. They claim to have questioned the parents and the doctors. Usha8217;s in-laws say that they first heard about the case from the newspapers, alleging that the police never questioned them.

Usha Devi, who studied upto class 11, and her upholsterer husband Ram Chander, fell in love and were married in 1991. They have two daughters. According to Chander8217;s brother, around 6-7 years ago, Usha started suffering from epilepsy. He said that sometimes the attacks were so severe that she would cause physical pain not only to herself but also to others around her. 8220;She would be uncontrollable. Sometimes she would get burnt if she had an attack while cooking.8221;

Chander8217;s relatives say that she had a normal delivery and was resting in the ward with her baby. 8220;She then had an attack, so the doctors rushed her into the labour room with the baby. We didn8217;t know what was going on there as visitors are not allowed inside. And now they are accusing her of killing her baby girl8221;.

A cousin says that talk of female infanticide is nonsense in this age of modern technology where unwanted pregnancies can be dealt with swiftly and painlessly. 8220;Why should she kill the girl? They have two daughters, and didn8217;t try for more children because bhabhi was having medical problems. Finally when her health improved, they decided to have another child. If they didn8217;t want a girl, they would have had an abortion. It is that simple these days8221;.

According to the Chander family: Usha was alone with the baby in the labour room. She had an epileptic fit, lost control and probably hit the new-born girl. The baby subsequently died.

According to the doctors: Usha had a normal delivery and was in the ward with her baby and family. There are around 25 beds here, most of them occupied. The baby was found smothered to death the next morning.

While the Chander family insists that it is a case of hospital negligence, they didn8217;t file a complaint with the police. Chander8217;s brother explains feebly: 8220;They already registered a case against us. Now what can we do? We can only call our lawyers.8221; Usha, Ram Chander and their two daughters left for Rajasthan on Monday. A relative said: 8220;She hasn8217;t been feeling well. So they have gone to the Balaji temple to offer prayers8221;.