Couple, relatives booked after premature baby dies in Tumakuru

A couple and one of their relatives were booked on the charges of negligence, which led to the death of a premature baby in Tumakuru district, police said on Friday

A couple and one of their relatives were booked on criminal charges of negligence, which led to the death of a premature baby in Tumakuru district, police officers said on Friday.

A couple was booked for negligence, which led to the death of a premature baby in Tumakuru district. (Representational Image)

According to the police, Vasantha, 23, a resident of Mallenahalli Gollarhatti village gave birth to twins in the second week of July at Tumakuru district government hospital. However, the first baby, being premature, couldn’t survive the delivery. The second male baby was admitted to NICU of the hospital for 22 days as it was underweight. But the couple insisted doctors to discharge the woman despite doctors’ advice.

The couple, said to be from the Kadu Golla community where women, after delivery, are not allowed inside the house due to a popular belief that the new mother is ‘sutak’ (inauspicious). All the new mothers are made to stay at a makeshift shed erected at agriculture fields for two months. As Vasantha was also made to live in a hut for 12 days the baby died on July 23 allegedly due to extreme cold as heavy rain was lashing in the district.

‘’The community does not listen to our advice and made the new mother to stay alone in the hut,’’ Chikkanayakanalli taluk medical officer Dr Lakshmikanth told HT.

‘’The community has 70 houses in the village and all the people follow the same tradition since decades ‘’ B Shivaraj , Mallenalli gram panchayat member and Kadugolla community leader told HT. He said the civil judge visited the village on Thursday and requested the legal aid authority to conduct awareness programmes all over the district as there are 1500 plus Kadu Golla community colonies in the district.

On Thursday, district legal aid authority member secretary and civil judge Noorunnisa visited the hut and ordered to file an FIR.

‘’The two twin babies weighed just 1.1 kg and 1 kg due to premature delivery’’ Tumakuru DHO Dr Manjunath told HT. If the infant would be in NICU for at least one month the chances of survival of baby is more, he added. Despite doctors’ advice to keep infant at NICU they insisted to discharge. “The infant was so weak couldn’t even be breast feed, we are giving food through nose he said.

“Followed by complaint of women and children welfare officer we have registered a case at Kora police station against Siddesh his wife Vasantha and Siddesh’s father Chikka Huligeppa under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounted to death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 2017 Karnataka prevention and eradication of inhumane evil practices and black magic act,” circle inspector N Kumar told HT. “We are waiting for the autopsy report and investigation is on,” he added.