Man Seriously Hurts 54-Day-Old Daughter Doubting Paternity, Charged With Attempted Murder

A 54-day-old infant was critical after she was assaulted by her father who doubted the paternity of the child. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Thursday (June 18).

In a statement Saturday (June 20), police said the father, identified as 40-year-old Shaiju Thomas, “forcefully grabbed the baby from the mother. He hit the baby twice on her head and then threw her on the bed.”

The baby was then taken to a local hospital. When questioned about how the baby sustained injuries, the accused initially told the doctors that the girl fell from the bed while sleeping. He, however, changed his statement and said he injured the child accidentally while using a mosquito bat. The doctors became suspicious and informed the police about the issue.

“The father at first said that the child was sleeping on the edge of the bed and when they woke up the child was found on the floor. Later, he said that he saw a mosquito biting the child and when he hit it, the child fell off the bed. Again, he changed his version that he used a mosquito racket. As he kept on changing his statements, we alerted police,” a senior doctor told local daily the Times of India.

Meanwhile, medical tests confirmed that the baby had suffered internal and external brain injury. She remained in critical condition.

“The child suffered brain hemorrhage, build-up of fluid in the brain and bruises on legs. At present, treatments are being given to control the pressure of the brain,” another doctor told local daily Mathrubhumi. Reports also stated that the child initially suffered continuous seizures, however, the frequency has come down.

Meanwhile, the father was taken into custody and charged with several offenses including attempt to murder and cruelty to child. He remained in jail as of Sunday night. A preliminary investigation revealed that the man had anger issues and used to assault his wife.

“The man has an anger management issue. He used to beat his wife and his sister as well after getting drunk. He always raised doubts about the child’s parentage. As per our preliminary analysis, these are the reasons for the attack,” a senior police officer said.