Baby battles for life in Odisha after mother flings her into fire in rage

BHUBANESWAR: A six-month-old girl is battling for her life after her mother allegedly tried to burn her in a slum of Bhubaneswar on Thursday, the police said.

The infant suffered over 90% burns and has little chances of survival, said doctors at the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.

According to the police, the incident was reported in the morning when the woman, a resident of Salia Sahi slum of Bhubaneswar took a cloth soaked with kerosene and set it on fire. She then threw her baby in the burning cloth. Hearing the infant’s screams, the neighbours rushed to the house and rescued the baby.

The incident is suspected to be a fallout of a quarrel with her husband as she was his second wife, the police said.

Neighbours told the police that the woman was also said to be mentally ill. The statement of the mother could not be recorded as her mental condition worsened after the incident, the police said. I have been appointed at a difficult time.

I became Odisha Congress president because of the support of numerous party workers and sympathisers. Rahul Gandhi responded to their desire. It’s a very difficult job. My heart may be closed but my arms are open.

Those who really think that Odisha should improve and develop, I will appeal to them to rejoin the Congress. But there are some who have joined the other parties for vested interests. We already are the number two party in the state and we are hopeful that things will change within the next 6-7 months. Had I got a minimum of two years, we could have even become the number one party. No doubt, the BJP is growing in Odisha and has managed to take our votes and also 5% of the BJD vote. But the trend is already I will have to move around for next three months and find out the strengths and weaknesses. But I am confident that the people this time will respond to what the BJD has done in the past 18 years and what the Bjp-led government at the Centre did for Odisha in the last four years. I will embrace everybody and try to put an end to whatever little factionalism is there.