Battered child may be speech-impaired, say police

Police investigation has suggested that the two-year-old battered baby struggling for life at the AIIMS trauma centre could be speech-impaired. Faizan Haider reports.

Police investigation has suggested that the two-year-old battered baby struggling for life at the AIIMS trauma centre could be speech-impaired.

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On Friday, the police visited the 14-year-old girl, who took the baby to AIIMS, at a shelter in south Delhi.

“The 14-year-old said the baby is speech-impaired and she used to communicate to her with signs. That was also one of the reasons she used to get irritated and beat her up,” said a police officer.

The police are probing whether the baby’s parents had dumped her because of the supposed speech problems.

Doctors treating the baby said there could be a possibility that she has speech-impairment but nothing could be said at this stage because she is semi-conscious.

Rajkumar is key link

The investigation has also pointed out that Rajkumar, the man accused of kidnapping and the raping 14-year-old, had left his Mahipalpur residence 10 days before she took the baby to AIIMS. Living alone with the baby added to her frustration and that aggravated her violent behaviour, the police said.

“Arrest of Rajkumar holds the key as he was the one who had brought the baby to their home. There are connecting links to establish how the baby reached Rajkumar and we have examined all of them,” he said.