Ghaziabad: ‘Father punched, stepmother used stick on 7-year-old’

On Tuesday, officials said that the autopsy showed that the girl suffered 13 different injuries on her body besides suffering three broken ribs and bleeding in her chest and head as a result of the assault

The father and stepmother of a seven-year-old girl in Ghaziabad have been formally arrested for allegedly beating the child to death at their home in the Dasna area, officials said on Wednesday, adding that her father had punched her several times, while her stepmother had beat her with a stick.

Police have recovered stick that was used to inflict injuries on the girl. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

On Monday, the couple, identified as Mohammad Akram, a vendor, and his wife, Nisha, “confessed” to assaulting the girl late Sunday night. They later took the unconscious girl to a hospital, where she was declared dead. They were detained on the day and brought in for questioning on Tuesday, when the family of the girl’s biological mother filed a police complaint.

Based on the complaint, the couple was arrested on Wednesday from Dasna.

During their interrogation, the couple revealed that, on Sunday evening, the girl fell into a drain. Seeing her dirty clothes, Nisha used a wooden stick to beat her while Akram punched her in the stomach multiple times, said Wave City station house officer (SHO) Sarvesh Kumar. Later, as further punishment, they sent her to the terrace to stand in the cold.

Police have recovered stick that was used to inflict injuries on the girl.

Police have also learnt that the couple often beat the seven-year-old girl and her two siblings.

“The two had not been cordial with the three children and would often beat them up. Nisha used to beat children often and would threaten to leave the house if her husband objected,” said Kumar.

On Tuesday, officials said that the autopsy showed that the girl suffered 13 different injuries on her body besides suffering three broken ribs and bleeding in her chest and head as a result of the assault on Sunday.

According to police, the two suspects rushed her for medical treatment at several hospitals in Ghaziabad and Hapur after she went unconscious. The girl died around 3am on Monday, and based on a complaint by the victim’s grandfather, Mohammad Zaheer, police registered an FIR on Tuesday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 103(1) (murder) against the two couple.

“An investigation is on in the case,” said Priyashri Pal, assistant commissioner of police (ACP- Wave City Circle).