Palghar baby’s death: 'No one killed the infant, mother was not molested'

The 10monthold girl who died on the MumbaiAhmedabad highway in Palghar last December fell off the moving cab because the door was open said MBVV polices crime branch Cops told midday that the 19yearold mother confessed to lying about the driver and her copassengers throwing her child off the taxi and molesting herOn December 10 the young mother boarded a cab at Pelhar along with her infant daughter She was going to her home in a tribal hamlet in the Palghar district On her way she lost her child and later accused other occupants of the car of murder and sexual assaultCops at the crime spotAn FIR was filed at Mandvi police station and the police immediately arrested Vijay Kushwaha the cab driverAlso Read Palghar babyrsquos death lsquoMy dad has been jailed for helping a woman in needrsquoHowever considering the sensitivity of the matter the then Mira BhayandarVasai Virar MBVV police chief Sadanand Date handed over the case to the crime branchThe child was 10 months old when she diedDuring the prolonged investigation the crime branch recorded the statements of more than 15 people including the womans six copassengers personnel from the highway safety police whose van was at the spot witnesses doctors and nursesSuspecting that something was amiss the crime branch decided to conduct a polygraph test of the driver as well as the complainantLied out of fearldquoWhile my client immediately gave his consent for the polygraph test the complainant did not agree She then spilled the beansrdquo Sarika Monde Kushwaharsquos lawyer saidConfirming that she confessed to lying police said the womans statement was recorded once again before the court which granted bail to the driver Kushwaha who was imprisoned for two months has been cleared of murder and molestation chargesldquoThe complainant told the court that she had cooked up the story because she was terrified of her familys reaction to her daughters deathrdquo Monde saidKushwaha is still facing charges for violations under the Motor Vehicles Act He had been driving an eightseater Eeco cab on the highway without a permitldquoAs per the Motor Vehicles Act the woman carrying her 10monthold child should not have been allowed to sit next to the driverrsquos seat Also there was no child restraint system in the vehicle and the door was improperly shut by the woman The driver was responsible for the upkeep of his passengersrsquo safetyrdquo said an officer of the MBVV policeWhat actually happenedThe woman boarded the cab at Pelhar to go to her village in Palghar district She was carrying a bag and her 10monthold baby and was seated next to the driverrsquos seat But the door was not shut properlyldquoAt one point the vehicle took a right turn and the gate opened The child who was on the womans lap seated next to the door fell off the moving cab that was in the middle lane In a bid to save her child the woman also fell downrdquo said a traffic police officerWhen they fell Kushwaha immediately applied emergency brakes A patrolling van of the highway safety police was just behind the cab and cops saw people carrying the bleeding infant inside the cab and the driver helped the woman get upldquoThey were first taken to two private hospitals and then to a civic hospital in Nalasopara The girl was declared brought dead at the first hospital itself and the woman had not mentioned anything about sexual harassment and murder of her child She cooked up the story only after she learnt about her daughters death at the second private hospitalrdquo said MondeldquoWe feel sorry for her irreparable loss but her fake allegation imprisoned my client who had to be imprisoned for two monthsrdquo the advocate saidldquoOur investigations are still underway It will take a few more days to submit the charge sheet in this caserdquo a crime branch officer said