54-day-old baby assaulted in Angamaly still in critical condition

KOCHI: The 54-day old infant, allegedly slapped and thrown on a cot at home by its father in Angamaly, continues to be in critical condition at a hospital, police said on Sunday.

The child, admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital at nearby Kolencherry after the attack on Thursday, had fits several times and the next 24 hours would be crucial, they said.

The baby was initially admitted to a private hospital in Angamaly, about 30 km from here, but was later referred to the other hospital, considering the serious nature of her injuries, police said.

Doctors there grew suspicious over the man's claim that his daughter had fallen down from the cot and informed police.

Shaiju Thomas, 40, was questioned and arrested, based on a statement from his Nepali wife, with the help of a translator, they said.

He has been charged under various sections of the IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder) and Juvenile Justice Act.

Police said the man, short tempered in nature and an alcoholic, had suspicions over the parentage of the infant and that probably led him to attack the child.

After snatching the infant from his wife, Thomas allegedly slapped the child twice before throwing her on the cot in their home.

He also used to beat the child whenever he came to their rented home at Angamaly after consuming liquor, they said.

However, it was not immediately clear if he was in an inebriated state when he flung the child on the cot.

Thomas, who met the 34-year-old woman through the social media, married her last year at a church in Nepal.

It was his brother, a pastor settled in Arunachal Pradesh, who arranged their marriage, police said.