Mizoram: Police apprehend couple for allegedly being involved in death of their 2-year-old daughter

A couple has been arrested over the death of their two-year-old daughter, who was suspected to be sexually assaulted before her death, in Mizoram's Aizawl.

As per a statement by the police, the girl, a resident of the western part of Aizawl, died in a private hospital here on September 16.

In this connection, the father of the child was arrested on October 1, while the mother was arrested two days later (October 3) as they appeared to be the prime suspects in the case, the statement said.

According to the statement, the police had registered suo-moto cases under relevant sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on September 20 after they received a piece of information from a medical officer of the private hospital stating that healed injuries on the private parts were found.

''The Medical officer of Ebenezer Hospital, in the Death summary, diagnosed the cause of death as, "Acute Laryngotracheobrontis (ALT) with severe respiratory distress", which had no immediate connection with the alleged sexual assault,'' the statement added.

However, the examination of the child’s samples at a forensic science laboratory revealed that “semen was not detected from the exhibits, the statement read further.

“The parents of the child were the prime suspects, as they had always maintained during the examination, that the custody of the child always remained with them only. Hence, on the basis of the circumstantial shreds of evidence, the father of the child was arrested on October 1, and subsequently, the mother was also arrested on October 3 for sustained and thorough custodial interrogation,” the police statement added.

A social activist Vanramchhuangi on September 29 filed a police complaint accusing the child’s parents of being prime suspects and sought their immediate arrest.

However, a few days later the girl’s family denied all the allegations.