On Thursday, the rural police of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar apprehended a couple accused of murdering a four-year-old girl they allegedly adopted unlawfully, having paid her biological parents Rs 5,000 in Jalna district six months prior.
The arrested individuals, Faheem Shaikh (35) and his wife Fauziya (27), originally hail from Ajanta and currently reside in the Moghulpura area of Sillod tehsil within Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. A local court has remanded the couple to two days of police custody.
According to police reports, the child, identified as Ayat Shaikh, succumbed to infections resulting from injuries inflicted during an alleged assault by the couple. Lawyers in Sillod declined to represent the couple in court, following a resolution protesting the abuses committed against the girl. The couple has been charged with murder and violations of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, as per the FIR filed at the Sillod city police station.
Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar Rathod stated, “The autopsy revealed that the child died from infections caused by injuries sustained during the alleged assault. The couple claimed they paid Rs 5,000 to the biological parents for the adoption. It is a criminal offense to buy or sell a child, and we will investigate these violations as well.”
An officer noted that the accused presented a bond paper indicating the biological parents’ consent to give their daughter for adoption to Shaikh and Fauziya. During interrogation, Fauziya confessed to assaulting the child but claimed she did not realize her actions would result in the child’s death.
The officer further explained, “While the couple was attempting to conduct the child’s last rites, local residents notified the police. Consequently, the girl was taken to a sub-district hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The burial took place with the presence of her biological parents.”
