Automobile mechanic tries to kill his baby girl

BANGALORE: It has come to light that an automobile mechanic allegedly tried to kill his three-month-old baby because it was a girl. The child, Neha Afreen, is in a critical state at Vani Vilas Hospital. The police have arrested her father, identified as Umar Farooq, a resident of Kushalnagar in K G Halli. Though the incident took place on Friday, it came to light on Sunday evening.Speaking to Express, his wife Reshma Banu said Farooq was not happy with the girl child.“He and his mother Gulzar Begum were harassing me for giving birth to a baby girl. All they  needed was Rs 5 lakh for the kid’s future expenditure because she is a girl” she alleged.“I had never expected even in my wildest dreams that he would ever try to kill his own child. But on Friday, I came to know his true colours. While I was busy with household chores, he went to the first floor, where Afreen was sleeping. He burnt her back with a cigarette butt and bit her cheeks and neck after holding her mouth tightly. After sometime, I went upstairs and was shocked to see wounds on her face and back. With the help of my father-in-law, I shifted her to Bowring hospital and later to NIMHANS before bringing her to Vani Vilas Hospital,” Reshma Banu lamented.Meanwhile, it is said that Farooq had hit Afreen’s head with a blunt weapon and it caused severe damage to her skull. Hence, the chances of the baby’s survival are slim, sources said.K G Halli police have registered a case in this connection and are further investigating