Gurugram man held for brutally assaulting 18-month-old niece

An 18-month old girl was critical after she was allegedly slammed on the floor multiple times by her uncle to take revenge from her father, police officers said on Tuesday, adding that the man was arrested.

Police have booked Arjat Ali, 24, for causing grievous hurt to the toddler, Ruhaana (who goes by a single name). Ali, a resident of Sector 90, allegedly had also assaulted the child’s mother a fortnight back, and was stopped by her husband, which had enraged him and he committed the crime to take revenge from her father, officers said.

The incident took place on November 24 at Ali’s house.

According to available information, the toddler’s mother, Monija Bedi, 20, had left for work after leaving the child with her husband’s sister, also Ali’s wife, Marufa Khatoon, 19, as her husband, Mahboob Sheikh, was not in the city. At the time, Ali, who is unemployed, was also at home, police said.

“About a fortnight back, Ruhana’s father, Mahboob Sheikh, had scolded and pushed away Ali while he was assaulting Khatoon in an inebriated condition. He was asking for money to purchase more liquor but Khatoon had refused. After Sheikh intervened, Ali could not purchase liquor that night over which he had a grudge and thus assaulted the child,” Meharban Ali, a family relative, alleged.

Police said that it was Khatoon who had alerted Bedi that Ali had assaulted the toddler. The child was left with a fractured femur and severe injuries on other body parts as well. She was rushed to a government hospital in Sector 10 on the night of November 24, and was later shifted to a private hospital in Sector 90 for surgery.

According to the family, the girl’s condition was critical.

On Bedi’s complaint, an FIR was registered against Ali under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act at Kherki Daula police station on Monday.

Bedi and Khatoon work as househelps, while Sheikh is as a daily wager. He had left for his native place in West Bengal a few days back.

Inspector Ajay Kumar, station house officer of Kherki Daula police station, said that Ali was arrested on Monday. “There was some dispute between both families. Further investigation is going on in the case,” he said.