Baby battered by father dies in Bangalore hospital

Bangalore: Three-month-old baby Afreen, who was allegedly beaten and abused by her own father for being born a girl, died of a massive cardiac arrest on Wednesday morning, hospital sources said.

Doctors at the Van Vilas Hospital in Bangalore said Afreen died around 11:30 am. “Afreen had convulsions at 10am and later suffered a cardiac arrest,'' said Dr Some Gowda of the hospital.

Afreen was admitted on Sunday with bite marks and a severe head injury.

Reacting to the death, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Wednesday called it a murder and asked for murder charges to be pressed against her father.

“This is very tragic and sad. The case should be brought to a logical ending. The mother will have to be given full cooperation and protection,” NCPCR Chairperson Shanta Sinha told the Times Now TV channel.

“There is a need for strong law against such people. This should be a human rights issue. This is murder, and legal assistance should be given to the mother to take up the case forward,” she added.