Judge A C Daga informed her that she had been found guilty of the murder of her daughter. Addressing the court in Marathi, Parmar said, “I have not done anything.” She remained stoic as the sessions court pronounced a life sentence.
As Parmar was taken into custody, her husband, Manish, expressed his shock at the verdict. He said the family would move the high court.
Seeking the maximum sentence, public prosecutor Ranjana Budhwant said the child was very young when murdered by her mother, while Parmar’s lawyer Devendra Yadav urged the court to show mercy.
Among nine prosecution witnesses cited by Bhudhwant was a nurse who told the court that on October 26, 2010, at 5am, Parmar complained that when she returned from the toilet, her daughter was missing. The nurse said she immediately informed others and they began to look for the baby. “I heard a baby crying outside the bathroom,” the nurse said. The baby was found in the compound behind the toilet.
A security guard said the baby was found surrounded by water and mud and her ear seemed to be bitten by rats. He said when he asked Parmar what had happened, she maintained that when she went to wash clothes in the bathroom, the child went missing. The guard said he touched the clothes but they were dry. When he confronted her again, she admitted that she had thrown the infant. The guard told the court that in the CCTV footage Parmar is seen going to the washroom with the baby, but returning empty handed. The baby died the same day.
A defence witness, a psychiatrist who was head of department at KEM in 2010, said Parmar was suffering from “postpartum disorder.” “Due to hormonal changes in women after delivery, there can be such disorders due to biological vulnerability. Along with these changes, negative life events are also important,” the doctor submitted.
The doctor said when she examined Parmar after the incident, she found that she had “sadness of mood” and had not slept properly for one and a half months. She further said that the twins were born premature and as doctors had told them that they may not survive, Parmar and her husband were in constant fear. The daughter was more serious, they were told.
The doctor said prior to the birth of the twins, Parmar had a miscarriage and had lost another baby after birth. She said after finding that Parmar may resort to suicide, she kept her as an indoor patient till November 22, 2010. The doctor had not allowed Parmar to meet her baby boy, fearing she may kill him.
