Toddler dies mysteriously after parents fight

A two-and-a-half-year old, who had a hole in his heart died and his parents are now fighting over who is to blame.

KARACHI: A two-and-a-half-year old child, Uzair Ali, who had a hole in his heart, died on December 9, and his parents are now fighting over who is to blame. His mother claimed her husband had thrown the baby to the ground, killing him accidentally but he defended himself saying that the boy died because he “saw them fighting”.

Later, Ahmed, who is a Suzuki driver, told The Express Tribune that the matter has been resolved between his wife and him and they have made up. He said nobody had beaten the child and he must have died when he saw his parents fighting since ‘blue babies’ have weaker hearts.

Duty Officer Sadaqat Ali of the Quaidabad police station said that on the day of the incident, Nagina came to the police station with her sister, brother-in-law and the body of her child. She filed an FIR under section 302/34 against her husband, Iftikhar Ahmed. The two residents of Sherpao Colony, Landhi, had fought early that morning and in his anger, her husband had beaten the child and then thrown him on the floor with such force that the boy had died, Nagina had alleged.

Investigation Officer Haji Akram said that the baby’s post-mortem reports have been sent to the Civil Hospital Karachi’s pathological laboratory and the city’s chemical examination department. The results will show the cause of death, after which the police will take action.

Police officials said that later investigations revealed that Nagina was lying. When the case was reported in the media, Ahmed came to the fore to defend himself.

Both the investigation officer and the duty officer, who were present when the body was brought to the police station, confirmed that they had not seen any marks of torture on the body. They said the child probably died of natural causes.

“He was my most beloved son because he was ill. How could I ever think of killing him?” said Ahmed with tears in his eyes. “Even an animal would not kill his child.”  Although he defended his wife, who was not available for comment, Ahmed claimed she beat their children. Besides Uzair, the couple has two more boys — a 12-year-old and a baby younger than Uzair.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2010.