AHMEDABAD: Even before she could grow to speak or understand words, a
20-day-old girl
sleeping in her mother’s arms was bludgeoned to death in the ‘safe city’ of Ahmedabad on Friday night — a casualty to a rampage by goons in Meghaninagar. She was hit on the head with a blunt weapon when a group of goons armed with sticks and metal pipes went berserk in trying to impose their supremacy in Chamanpura’s Bapalal Chawl, in Meghaninagar area. The baby was rushed to Civil Hospital only to be declared brought dead.
Even though the locals claim the attackers were bootleggers, local police seem to be denying that angle.
After the death of the infant, and an FIR being registered, cops arrested two of five accused — Hitesh Marwadi and Satish Patni of Chamanpura. Other accused include Gopal Patni, Deepak Patni and Lakhan Thakor, all of Chamanpura.
Satish is a known criminal with more than 10 cases registered against him. “We are also looking for criminal records of other persons accused in the FIR,” said a police official.
Inspector P G Sarvaiya of Meghaninagar police station said, “One inspector, three sub-inspectors and 80 policemen have been kept stand to in the area to control any backlash which could erupt during the cremation ceremony.”
According to the complaint lodged by Laxmi Patni, 45, of Bapalal Chawl in Chamanpura, her daughter Khusbu had given birth to a baby girl on May 17, 2019.
Patni has claimed in her FIR that while they were sleeping outside their house on Friday night, the accused, armed with wooden rods and iron pipes rushed in and started beating them.
“According to the FIR they also got injured when hit with wooden rods. Satish Patni hit Kushbu's 20-day-old daughter with an iron pipe on her head. The FIR claims that though they were injured they rushed the
toddler
to Civil Hospital where he was declared dead,” said a police official.
Inspector P G Sarvaiya said they have formed teams to nab the accused who are absconding.
City police chief A K Singh called up DCP Neeraj Badgujar and instructed him to on nab the killers at the earliest and maintain law and order in the area.