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Dubai: Neighbours are shocked over the death of a child who was found in a pool of blood and whose sister and mother were gravely injured.
Three-and-a-half-year-old Nausha Khadeeja died on her way to the hospital, while her 18-month-old sister Najiya Hamna is battling for her life. The mother, Hasina, is said to be in stable condition. Both mother and child are being treated at Rashid hospital.
The incident took place on Tuesday at around 5pm in a villa in Hor Al Anz which the family shared with eleven other families. The mother and her two daughters were alone at home while their father Nasser, a computer engineer, was at his workplace.
Saeed Iqbal Ahmad, an Indian who had rented the villa and sublet it to the 11 families lives next to Nasser and was the first to discover the girls lying on the bed covered in blood.
'Long knife'
Speaking to Gulf News, Ahmad said: "I will never be able to wipe out the memory of the two kids lying motionless in blood with a long knife next to them."
Recollecting how he came to discover the tragedy, Ahmad said that he had just come home from work and was relaxing when he found Hasina near the main villa door which was kept open. "Her clothes were soaked in blood and she kept looking at me and pointing towards her house, saying 'kutty... kutty... kutty,' (meaning "child" in Malayalam, a language spoken in south India). She ran inside her house. I picked up my mobile and went to see what the matter was and what I saw sent a chill down my spine," Ahmad says.
"I saw the two young girls lying in a pool of blood, there was knife lying on the bed, and the mother was sitting next to the daughter and crying. The television was on full blast and the lights were on. As I stepped outside the room I came across a friend of the family, who was sent by Nasser to check if all was well at his home, as his wife had made a frantic telephone call to him. When friend saw the children, he panicked and asked me to dial the police. I called 999 and in no time the police was here at our villa," said Ahmad.
No quarrels
He said that Nasser and his family had moved into the single room in the villa, which has a small kitchen and bathroom, three months ago.
"I had never heard husband and wife quarrel. I can still remember the two children riding their bicycle outside the villa gates. They were both lively children," said Ahmad. "The husband reached home from work at around 8.30pm. He was a shattered man when he came out of the room where his daughter lay in blood," he added.
Ahmad said he, along with other people, was interrogated by the police.
A family friend of Nasser's said that Nasser and Hasina's father were allowed to see Hasina but were asked by the police to refrain from asking her any questions.
"The younger daughter is still on ventilation and her condition is said to be critical. She is in the intensive care unit. Nasser is devastated by the tragedy. He keeps enquiring about the procedures that need to be followed and wants conduct the burial of their elder daughter back in their home town in Kerala, India," said the family friend.
I had never heard husband and wife quarrel. I can still remember the two children riding their bicycle outside the villa gates. They were both lively children."
A preliminary investigation into the death of young Nausha Khadeeja has revealed that her mother had experienced psychological disorders for eight years.
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said her psychological state had deteriorated because of quarrels with her husband. This led her to attempt to end her children's lives and her own life.
Another child is in a critical condition, while the woman is stable.
Colonel Al Mansouri said the woman's husband said that he had left the house and went to work as normal that day. He then got a call from his wife's father in India telling him that the wife called him and sounded disturbed. The woman's father asked the husband to go and check on her.
"The husband then sent one of his relatives to the house to check on his wife. The relative found one daughter in a pool of blood, while the woman and her [other] child were found in a critical condition as a result of multiple stabs," he said.
The Public Prosecution will further investigate the incident.
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