Baby Afreen's father is a blot on humanity, he deserves capital punishment, sad, shameful...reactions from twitterati poured in fast and furious Wednesday after news that the three-month-old girl had succumbed to her injuries in a Bengaluru hospital.
Afreen was allegedly tortured by her father as he wanted a son. She was admitted in the government-run Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday with a severe head injury, bite marks on her body and some burn injuries. She died of cardiac arrest.
Her death has evoked anger and disgust among celebrities and commoners alike with more than 500 people tweeting in the first hour after the news of her death. Here's what they said:
Farhan Akhtar: Baby Afreen's father is a blot on humanity.
Meghna Gulzar: Baby Afreen. Baby Falak. And God knows how many more that didn't make the headlines. Or through life. Sad and shameful.
Shruti Seth: UNBELIEVABLY TRAGIC. Battered Bangalore baby Neha Afreen dies in hospital.
Mini Mathur: DEATH for baby Afreens father!! No mercy AT ALL. Yes capital punishment is not the norm. But who can put bites and cigarette burns on a 3-month-old baby?? And fracture her tiny arms?? WHO?
Ashish Chowdhry: Pathetic bas****of a father. Cardiac arrest on a 3-month-old. Wish he rots in hell.
Kavi Shastri: Battered Bangalore baby Neha Afreen dies in hospital... disgusted!!!
Neel Dutt: Baby Afreen's father is a blot on humanity. The court should deal with him in a way that'll make other such blots think twice.
Shivakar S: 1st baby Falak, now, baby Afreen. Disgusted by the times we live in.
Nandita Iyer: I get a renewed faith in the harshest possible death penalty when I hear of people like Baby Afreen's father. Disgraceful indeed.
Sharmila Mahurkar: God saw YOU were getting tired, and a cure was not meant to Be....so he put his arms around you and whispered come with Me......RIP Baby Afreen.
Anup Dev Kumar: Feel so sad about baby Afreen..RIP little soul..
Sukhmani Singh: My nationalism has died with Baby Afreen. How can our men be so brutal to the girl-child, and treat those that survive with equal disdain?
Afreen's case is similar to that of baby Falak, who died March 16 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi after battling for life for nearly two months. Two-year-old Falak was also brutally beaten, bitten, her skull was broken and limbs fractured.
As per the 2011 Census report, the sex ratio in India, known for its male preference, stands at 914 females per 1,000 males.
Gender discrimination is rampant in the country. According to a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, although a marginal increase in general sex ratio at the national level was observed between 1981 and 2001, the child sex ratio continued to decline over five decades.
A Unicef report said foetal sex determination and sex selective abortion by unethical medical professionals has today grown into a Rs.1,000 crore industry ($244 million).