MP: Newborn dies after mother chops off extra fingers, toes
Khandwa (MP), Dec 29: A woman in a tribal hamlet in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district allegedly chopped off the extra fingers and toes of her newborn child out of fear that the oddity would hamper the infant's chances of getting married, police said Saturday.
The girl, who was born on December 22 with six fingers each on both hands and six toes each on both feet, succumbed to the injuries, police said.
After being alerted by media reports, the body of the child was exhumed on Saturday for further probe, an official said.
"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, adding that superstitions about it could also have led the woman to commit the act.
Superintendent of Police Ruchi Vardhan Mishra said a post mortem was conducted and the medical report was awaited following which further action would be taken.
Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Shailendra Kataria said action had been initiated against the local medical staff overseeing formalities related to childbirth in the village.
Police said that the woman had not been arrested as yet.
The condition is known as polydactyly or polydactylism or hyperdactyly and is a congenital physical anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and toes.
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Illegally stored gas cylinders seized
Thane (PTI): Authorities have seized illegally stored 1,839 gas cylinders and seven vehicles worth over Rs 67 lakh in the Dombivli MIDC area of Thane district, officials said on Saturday.
A special vigilance team of the Mumbai Rationing Department detected an illegal storage of domestic and commercial LPG cylinders in Phase-2 of Dombivli (East).
Cylinders belonging to multiple gas agencies were found stockpiled in closed vehicles, unauthorised warehouses, and open sheds without mandatory permissions from the Explosives Department, Fire Department, or oil companies, according to an official release.
