Police reunite Falak's sister with her mother

New Delhi: Police yesterday confirmed that Munni is two-year-old battered baby Falak's biological mother and said they had traced Munni's elder daughter in Bihar and reunited her with the mother.

Two more people have been arrested in the case even as doctors held out bleak chances of the child's full recovery.

Delhi Police said yesterday that Munni wanted custody of Falak, but this will be decided by a child welfare committee.

"Munni, who is the mother of Falak, wants her custody but she will be given custody only after she [the baby] recovers, and with the approval of the child welfare committee," Deputy Commissioner of Police Chhaya Sharma said at a press conference.

Though police have confirmed Munni as Falak's mother, they have not done a DNA test to prove the relationship.

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who have been treating baby Falak for over two weeks said yesterday there is a 30-40 per cent chance that the child may remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.

She was admitted to AIIMS on January 18 with a fractured skull, bruises and human bite marks all over her body. A teenager, claiming to be her mother, admitted her to the hospital.

Meanwhile, police traced Falak's sister, who is a year and a half older, in Bihar and brought her to Delhi. The girl was reunited with Munni, while her another child, a son, is still missing.

Falak's sister had been kept at the house of some people in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

Two arrested

According to police, Laxmi, a woman now under arrest, had befriended Munni and persuaded her to leave her abusive husband and re-marry. She had arranged for a second husband for the 22-year-old Munni, and also kept her three children with herself and subsequently gave them away.

Falak's sister, identified as Sanobar, was kept by Laxmi at the house of a relative in Muzaffarpur when Munni was brought to Delhi in September. But Laxmi's relatives gave the girl away to a neighbour.

According to police, Laxmi appears to have had a central role in separating the three children and police are investigating a child trafficking angle in the case.

The police identified Falak's sister through an MMS received from a special Delhi Police team in Muzaffarpur. The picture of Falak's sister was shown to her mother, Munni, who confirmed her identity.

The police are also interrogating 60-year-old woman Pratima and Manoj, 55, who were detained by police on Monday.