Falak's brother and sister too are missing

Children were given away, after mother was remarried

After Munni, the biological mother of battered baby Falak, was traced, police found that Falak has a five-year-old brother and three-year-old sister who are missing as well.

The  suspects – Laxmi, Saroj, Kanta Choudhry and Shankar – conspired to sell off Munni Khatoon, the mother and keep her three children.

“So far the investigation reveals that the kids were not sold off, but given to various people,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chhaya Sharma.

Asked whether Laxmi and others were running an adoption racket, Sharma said nothing of that sort had come out yet in the investigation.

Five teams have been formed to trace Falak’s brother and sister. The police are also looking for a couple, Manoj and his wife Pratima, to whom Laxmi gave Falak. The couple in turn handed her over to Raj Kumar alias Dilshad. Raj Kumar then gave Falak to the 14-year-old girl who brought her to the AllMS Trauma Center on January 18.

 Raj Kumar is still untraceable. He is allegedly hiding in Mumbai. Two police teams are camping there.

Convoluted case
The first accused Shankar, a resident of Bihar's Muzaffarpur, procured Munni's mobile number.
He took advantage of Munni’s financial and mental situation and convinced her that he could provide her a better job in Delhi.

Munni’s husband was an alcoholic and was involved in criminal activities. Shankar introduced her to Laxmi who along with Saroj and Kanta Choudhry married her off for Rs 2.7 lakh to a 25-year-old man in Rajasthan.

They promised Munni that her children would be safe with them and she could come back for them when her new husband agreed. But the accused gave the three kids to different people.
Falak’s elder sister was with Shankar, who is still untraceable. Police are also trying to trace her five year-old brother.

“There are many people involved and we are questioning them and hope to trace them,” said Sharma. Falak was admitted at AIIMS with grievous injuries, including human bites, by the 14-year-old girl who was also a victim of human trafficking.

Falak’s condition critical
While doctors said the intensity of blood infection in Falak’s body has reduced, they maintained that infection in her brain is still a grave issue.

“There is infection in brain fluid as per cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) report which is a cause of concern, but it is not traced in the blood which is a good sign,” said Dr M C Misra, chief, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center (JPNATC), AIIMS. He added that the baby’s lungs are also in a better condition than before though she is still suffering from septicaemia (bacterial infection) in the brain.

Doctors have put Falak on ventilator support only intermittently to avoid chances of getting pneumonia.

“We are working to remove her from the ventilator. Ventilator is a double-axed sword. It gives life support, but also has side effects,” said Misra.

Doctors have cleared some amount of Falak’s brain fluid.  They have added another antibiotic to fight the infection.