Search for missing toddler ends on tragic note in Najafgarh

NEW DELHI: The search for the missing six-month-old girl ended on a tragic note after her lifeless body was recovered from the Najafgarh drain in west Delhi near Sector-16b Dwarka on Thursday, a day after her mother’s body was found from the same drain.

Police claimed that they have registered a case under the sections of dowry death of the Indian Penal Code.

They added that the body of the child was recovered on Thursday evening, after they deployed four divers in the search who were provided by the Delhi Government Boat Club.

The body of the baby was found below the flyover of the drain at Sector 16-B, after a search of two hours.

Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse stated that the postmortem of the body will ascertain the cause of the death. “A case under section 304-B can be registered,” another police official said.

Police had formed four small teams, who were searching the baby in different areas of the locality. The team searching the drain later called in divers for the operation.

A missing report had been lodged on Tuesday by the toddler’s father, claiming that his wife and daughter had gone missing on Monday, around 7.30 am.

Her husband told the cops that on August 6, he had left for office in the morning as he did daily. In the evening, when he returned, the landlord informed him that his wife and daughter had left home around 11 am, stating that she is going to the Anganwadi centre, but did not eventually turn up.

He contacted all his relatives in Delhi as well as Uttarakhand but could not find any whereabouts. Finally, the 23-year-old woman was found dead in the drain. During inquiry, the husband told cops that he and his wife had some friction for the past few days.