Changed five hands, still nobody's child

Monday offered little hope to the seriously injured two-year-old battling for life at the AIIMS trauma centre. Her condition took a turn for the worse and the man who could offer clues to her parents, Rajkumar, continued to elude the police, who released his picture during the day. HT reports. Grim news from ICU | For five days, 14-year-old assaulted child | Rajkumar's picture

Monday offered little hope to the seriously injured two-year-old battling for life at the AIIMS trauma centre.

Baby-Falak-who-battled-for-life-for-almost-2-months-has-died-File-Photo-Ajay-Aggarwal-HT-photo

Her condition took a turn for the worse and the man who could offer clues to her parents, Rajkumar, continued to elude the police, who released his picture during the day.

A taxi driver, Rajkumar is allegedly the "boyfriend" of the 14-year-old girl, who brought the baby to the AIIMS trauma centre on January 18.

As first reported by HT, the baby has serious head injuries, broken arms, burnt cheeks and human-bite marks all over her body. The teenager confessed to beating up the child in a fit of rage. She also said Rajkumar, who has been charged with rape and kidnap, sexually abused her.

Investigators, however, made little headway in tracking the 22-year-old, who went back on his surrender offer.

The police on Monday said they were a step closer to the baby's mother.

"We have questioned one Laxmi who claims that she got the child from one Munni, who came to her home in September with the child," said Chhaya Sharma, DCP (south).

Munni begged Laxmi, who lives in Uttam Nagar, for a job, saying her husband had abandoned them, said the DCP.

Twenty days after working as domestic help, Munni disappeared from Laxmi's home leaving behind the baby, the officer said. A mother of four, Laxmi, whose husband is a property dealer, passed on the baby to a neighbour, Manoj, who gave her to his friend Rajkumar.

Rajkumar took the baby home — a rented house in Dwarka — in November but his wife refused to take her in. Rajkumar, who was by then living in with the teenager in a small hotel in south Delhi’s Mahipalpur, handed over the baby to the girl.

On January 12, he left for Mumbai where his son, who is physically challenged, was unwell, police said. His son lives with his in-laws. "It seems she (teenager) couldn't handle the pressure of taking care of the child alone and assaulted her," said the officer.