3-year-old girl from city beaten, burned by parents last month

In the wake of a mother’s arrest on Thursday for battering her three-month-old daughter to death, it has come to light that a three-year-old girl was beaten and burned by her parents in Dharavi in September.

In the wake of a mother’s arrest on Thursday for battering her three-month-old daughter to death, it has come to light that a three-year-old girl was beaten and burned by her parents in Dharavi in September.

HT Image

But while it took the Borivli police over a week to start investigations into the baby’s death, the Dharavi child was taken away from her parents by the police and placed in the custody of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Her mother was arrested and is now out on bail, while the father is absconding.

The child, Sunita Shivsharan, was brought to Sion hospital by Roshan Shaikh, a social worker, on September 15 after she learnt about the girl being assaulted through her neighbours.

“It was a classic case of battered baby syndrome. The child was bleeding in the eye because of assault near the forehead. She also had burns and several healed scars. We reported the case to the police,” said Dr Rajesh Dere, associate professor, forensic medicine, Sion hospital.

The Dharavi police arrested Sunita’s mother Jayashree under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act. She was released on bail about a week later. The child was treated for her wounds and discharged on September 21.