Washington: A 34-year-old Indian-origin man has been charged in the US with risk of injury to a child and evidence tampering for allegedly failing to seek medical care for his 1-month-old son after realising that the infant was unresponsive and could be dead.
Divya Patel of Rocky Hill in Connecticut was arrested after police discovered his one-month-old child dead in the backseat of his car on Sunday.
According to state police, it received a 911 call on November 18 from a mother stating that her one-month-old was not breathing.
She told police that the child was with his father in a car parked at the Residence Inn on Cromwell Ave.
When officers arrived, they were unable to locate Patel or the child. They contacted him via cell phone but he was uncooperative and would not tell police his location, nbcconnecticut reported.
After about 30 minutes, Patel returned to the Residence Inn where officers located the unresponsive child.
The child was taken to Connecticut Children’s Medical Centre in Hartford and pronounced dead.
During their investigation, police learned that Patel was aware his child had died and did not render aid or seek emergency care.
Patel is being held on a USD 1 million bond. He appeared in New Britain Superior court Tuesday and is due back in court on December 5. Police said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.
PTI