A baby girl is battling for her life after her mother tried to chew her leg and smashed her repeatedly against the wall when she was just 9-days-old.
The infant is continuing in critical condition at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, India.
According to the child’s father, her 26-year-old mother wanted a baby boy but was upset that she gave birth to a girl child.
The woman’s husband, who has not been identified, works as a data entry operator in a private company. He told the Times of India that they got married on February 12, 2020.
"On June 21, she gave birth to a baby girl and was discharged from the hospital four days later. But she was upset as she wanted a baby boy. I talked to her and tried to convince her that a daughter is a gift of goddesses Durga and Laxmi," he said.
On Wednesday, June 23, he and his mother had gone to meet a priest to fix the date for the child’s naming ceremony when he got a call from his brother-in-law.
"Around 2 pm, I got a call from my wife’s brother that she had lost her mind and was beating our child. I rushed home to find her grabbing my daughter’s leg between her teeth. The child’s head and leg were bleeding profusely. I immediately snatched my daughter from her hands and took her to a nearby hospital where doctors referred her to a bigger medical centre," he said.
According to him, the woman had attacked the infant’s genitals as well.
"If the doctors succeed in controlling the infection, my daughter will be saved. She has received several stitches on her head and leg," he said.
Police say the woman is "mentally unstable and her treatment is underway," the Times of India reported.
After the alleged incident, the man informed his wife’s parents about the brutality. Her family then took her to a private hospital in Ghaziabad.
The devastated man said that he was unaware of his wife’s mental illness. He said he came to know about it only on Wednesday when his brother-in-law told him that she had been on medication.
"I learnt that she had been admitted to hospital before we got married too, but her family didn’t tell me anything till now. I have not seen such behaviour from her in over a year of our marriage," he said.
Nandgram police station SHO Neeraj Singh said a case has been registered against the woman under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC ).
"She will be arrested once she is discharged from hospital," he added.
