Two children – 10-month-old Divya and two-year-old Vaibhav – and their mother -- Rekha (22) -- were brought to Safdarjung Hospital with severe burn injuries on Tuesday morning, hours after they were allegedly set afire in their house in Sun Perh village in Ballabgarh in Faridabad district.
While the children were declared brought dead, their mother had suffered thermal injuries (heat injuries) and was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. The post-mortem of the children has been conducted and the report will be handed over to the investigating agency.
“Rekha will stay under observation for the next 24 to 48 hours. If there is an improvement in her condition she will be shifted to a step-down intensive care unit. She has suffered injuries on her face and has problems in her lungs due to inhalation of smoke,” said Poonam Dhanda, a Safdarjung Hospital spokesperson.
The children’s father, Jitender (26), a registered medical practitioner, has suffered minor injuries on his hands. Asked about Jitender’s condition, Ms. Dhanda said: “He was in obvious shock when we told him about the condition of his wife and the death of his children. He was treated at the out patients department and did not require hospital stay.”
According to preliminary reports, the fire started in the house around 3 a.m. Relatives of the family at Safdarjung Hospital refused to speak to the media, but nodded when asked if the attack was part of some community/caste clash. “The fire broke out early in the morning and while the parents managed to escape with injuries, the children were badly burnt. They were brought dead to the hospital. The woman is stable, but critical,” added a senior Safdarjung official.
The police have registered a case under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and launched a hunt for the attackers.
