Cops zero in on mother's role

With the progress in the investigation into the death of the three-year-old girl from

Purulia who was admitted to the SSKM Hospital with seven needles inside her body and eventually died on early Friday morning, police are not ruling out the possibility of baby's mother being involved in the crime.

Mangala Goswami, the mother of the victim was taken to the district after she had been detained by the police at the SSKM

Hospital as the investigating officers found some evidences that establish that the mother might have conspired with the accused Sanatan Thakur with whom she used to live with after being separated from her husband.

The incident took place at Nadiara, a lesser known village in Purulia. Police are yet to arrest the main accused Thakur who might have fled to some other district, police suspect.

It has become difficult to trace the accused as he is not using any mobile phone. The district has already sealed Thakur's house where the baby had been tortured for over a period of time.

The local people said that Mangala started living with the accused Thakur who had reportedly engaged her as a maid servant. Thakur was a friend of Laxmi Kanta Ghosh, the husband of the woman. Police have gathered information establishing that the woman had developed an illicit relationship with Thakur. Initially, it was suspected that

Thakur had pushed the needles into the baby's body and later fled from the house after the matter came to light.

The local people raised questions why the victim's mother did not protest against the incident or why she did not inform the matter to the local residents.

This also makes the police suspect that the woman might have been equally involved in the

incident as both of them wanted to begin a new relationship and the baby might have become an obstacle to do so.

The local villagers at Nadiara are fuming and demanding

stringent action against the duo as they were equally responsible for the incident.

After being taken to the district, Purulia police will interrogate the woman in this connection. Police have already slapped Thakur with various charges including sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

It might be mentioned that despite efforts of the doctors of the medical board at the SSKM, the baby died on early Friday morning due to the infection that spread to her lungs and other parts of her body as seven needles remained inside the body of baby for a long time.