Police investigating the death of a two-year-old girl in Dharavi,after receiving an anonymous call that she died due to constant abuse from her parents,on Saturday said the toddlers viscera had been sent for forensic analysis. The police added that any action against her parents would be taken only after they receive the reports. Doctors at Sion Hospital,who had approached the police when the girl was earlier brought in for treatment of injuries,maintain that her earlier wounds were typical of a battered baby. According to Nandkumar Mehetar,senior inspector,Sahhu Nagar police station,the matter came to light on August 3 after an anonymous caller alerted the police about the death of a girl who was allegedly often beaten by her parents. Only minutes before Tanaaz Sayyeds body was to be carried to the burial ground,the police took the body into their custody and sent it for a post-mortem. The post-mortem report has stated Opinion reserved with evidence of old healing injuries over body. There were no fresh cut marks on her body. The marks on the body could be rashes that were healing, said Mehetar. The police have now sent Tanaazs viscera for forensic analysis to ascertain what the old injuries were. We have registered an accidental death report and are conducting investigations. However,if the reports confirm injuries,we will take action accordingly, Mehetar said. Mehetar said a police team visited the area where Tanaazs family resides and spoke to neighbours but did not get any substantial evidence to prove that the parents beat up the child. The police have recorded statements of Tanaazs parents who have denied any wrongdoing. In his statement,the childs father,Firdaus Sayyed (26),who works in Dubai,said the baby had only been drinking milk,which was the cause of her malnourishment. He said due to lack of vitamins,she had developed rashes. Meanwhile,Dr Rajesh Dere,associate professor of the forensic medicine department at Sion,however,maintained that when Tanaaz then only around seven months old was brought to the hospital for the first time had bruises typical of a battered baby. When doctors examined her,it was seen that she also had a fractured femur (thigh bone) and eight to 10 other injuries all over her body. We immediately informed the cops and our medical report specifically mentioned that the child was suffering from battered baby syndrome, said Dr Dere. Dere said he is surprised the police have not sought any medical opinion from the hospital yet. As of now,our preliminary report only says that the child showed old,healed injuries with previous clinical history of battering, he said. The hospital has already sent tissues of the body for further toxicological analysis to trace any possibility of poisoning.
