KOLKATA: A 21-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly smothering her one-day-old girl at a private nursing home in the Ekbalpore area on Wednesday morning. The accused has been identified as Lovely Singh, a resident of the Docks’ Eastern Boundary Round in the Port division. She was put under arrest in the evening after confessing to the crime. She admitted she used a pillow to suffocate the newborn.
Cops suspect that Singh was unhappy to have delivered a girl.
“Information was received from a nursing home located on Ekbalpore Lane that a newborn — aged just a day — was found dead inside a dual-bed cabin on the third floor of the building. OC Ekbalpore went to ascertain the fact. It was found that the accused, Singh, wife of Ajay Singh, was admitted on October 18 for delivery at bed number 301 in the cabin under Chandrani Bhattacharya, a doctor.
On Tuesday, Singh gave birth to a girl at 6.20am. However, after learning that she had a daughter, the accused was visibly upset and she let it be known to the doctors and nurses,” said DC (Port) Zafar Ajmal Kidwai.
Police said the accused’s husband had stayed back in the cabin on Tuesday night. “However, he said he fell asleep after midnight and went out to get some tea early in the morning. He returned to find a caregiver and a nurse in the cabin and was told his baby was dead,” said Kidwai.
“The attending caregiver, nurse, RMO, gynaecologist and paediatrician were preliminarily examined. It emerged that the baby had been healthy and was alive till 12.30am on Tuesday night. Between 5.30am to 6am, the caregiver, Anjuman Bibi, entered the cabin and found the newborn dead.
She immediately informed the RMO, nurse and other administrators. The doctors found abrasions on the baby’s nose. Singh was repeatedly questioned and she finally confessed to killing the newborn with a pillow after 12.30am.
The post-mortem has revealed that death was due to smothering. A complaint against the mother was submitted by the nursing home based on which a specific case of murder was lodged and the woman was put under arrest,” the DC (Port) said.
