Three days after a 16-day-old baby girl was found dead behind her Sion residence, the police on Friday arrested her mother for allegedly killing her. Police officials said she is suspected to have committed the offence due to post-partum depression.
The girl, who was yet to be named but was called Ashi by her parents, went missing from her residence in Sundar Kamala Nagar near King’s Circle railway station on Tuesday afternoon. Her parents, Nadeem and Shama Parveen Ansari, informed the Sion police about it. Her body was found in a sewer behind her house on Tuesday evening.
Police officials said Ms. Ansari was arrested on Friday after a lengthy questioning session established that she was behind the child’s murder.
“Both mother and child were suffering from intense health problems since Ashi’s birth. Ashi was born underweight and was not drinking milk properly, while Ms. Ansari is still suffering from very high blood pressure. After several hours of inquiries, during which we had to be careful not to aggravate Ms. Ansari’s health problems, she confessed to having killed Ashi,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
The officer said the exact sequence of events is still unclear, as Ms. Ansari, who is displaying symptoms of severe depression, only keeps repeating that she killed her daughter but says nothing beyond that. She is being administered medicines for her health problems and will also be referred to a counsellor, officers said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Saurabh Tripathi confirmed Ms. Ansari’s arrest, but declined to reveal any further details. The police have charged Ms. Ansari with murder and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code.
Sources said that women constables have been assigned to watch Ms. Ansari round the clock in the lock-up given her psychological condition, and instructions have been issued to rush her to the hospital at the first sign of aggravation.
Psychologist Harish Shetty said Ms. Ansari is displaying all the signs of post-partum depression and should be examined at the earliest. “The worst part is that gynaecologists do not detect early signs of depression. They need to be educated about this aspect of motherhood. Even family members should look out for signs like increased irritability, inability to sleep and extreme thoughts, and take the mother to a mental health practitioner at the first such sign,” Dr. Shetty said.