Khandwa (Mp): Chopping off extra fingers, toes of her newborn baby fearing bad omen that would lurk in her child’s future, a woman from Madhya Pradesh reportedly ended in killing her baby said police reports.
The woman hailing from a tribal hamlet in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district allegedly chopped off the extra fingers and toes of her newborn born on December 22.
The newborn was apparently born with six fingers each on both hands and six toes each on both feet, the police said.
According to an official, the newborn was exhumed on Saturday for further probe soon after the reports of the child’s death surfaced.
“The child was born on December 22 to a woman identified as Tarabai in Sundardev village. The woman used a sickle to chop off the infant’s extra fingers and toes. She later coated the injuries with cow dung. Within hours, the infant died and was buried in the village,” Dabar added.
“She feared that the child would not be able to get married in future because of these extra fingers and toes,” said Dabar.
The officer added superstitions about it and bad omen lurking in a child’s future led the woman to commit the act.
Superintendent of Police Ruchi Vardhan Mishra said a post-mortem report is awaited, TOI reports.
Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Shailendra Katariya said that action will be initiated against the local medical staff for overseeing formalities related to the newborn’s birth in the village. While the mother is not yet arrested.