Tahla Ikram aged 17 months
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Hammersmith, Fulham/Ealing Social Services Social Services said there was no concerns Daily Mail September 2007 Seven missed chances to save boy tortured to death by sadistic stepmother A toddler tortured by his stepmother was seen by a string of doctors in the weeks before his death but they failed to spot that he was being abused. Talha Ikram was treated in hospital seven times for a broken leg but each time he was examined by a different medic. He died in his cot in unbearable pain last September aged 16 months due to complications relating to another fracture. Stepmum Sumairia Parveen tortured 17-month-old baby Tahla Ikram tortured to death Talha had a cigarette stubbed out on his skin, suffered three broken ribs and had his leg sliced open so the tendons could be seen. Sumaira Parveen and Talha's father, Abid Ikram, also broke his thigh and shin and left the injuries untreated so the bones ground together, causing Talha to scream out in agony. A pathologist who examined his body said his injuries resembled those of a car accident victim. Yesterday, 24-year-old Parveen and Abid Ikram, 30, were each jailed for nine years for causing or allowing Talha's death. Ikram was given a further year for perverting the course of justice by sending Parveen to Pakistan after Talha's death. Scroll down for more... Father Abid Ikram and Stepmother Sumairia Parveen responsible for baby's deaths outhwark Crown Court heard that Talha was placed with his father in Ealing, West London, after his mother Habibah became unable to care for him because of depression following her split from the boy's father. The catalogue of abuse began in January 2006 after Parveen began a relationship with Ikram and moved into his home. She was jealous of Talha and instigated his torture in the hope that social services would remove him, the jury was told. The boy was taken away from Ikram that March after Ealing social services, alerted by a friend, found him left at home alone lying on the living room floor while his father went out drinking with Parveen. Talha was placed with foster parents where he thrived, learning to walk and say his first words. But in what proved to be a catastrophic decision, a family court ruled that Talha should be returned to his father. The boy went back to live with Ikram and Parveen at the end of June last year, by which time she had given birth to a daughter from a previous relationship. A few weeks later, Talha's foster carers visited him at home in Ealing. He had a black eye and seemed "quiet" and unable to walk or move comfortably. Parveen claimed he had fallen down the stairs. After being urged to do so by the carers, Ikram took Talha to the casualty department at Ealing Hospital the next day. Doctors diagnosed a broken shin and his leg was put in a cast. They also noticed a black eye and bruises but did not spot the signs of abuse. Talha returned six more times over apparent problems with his cast and on one occasion staff noticed a cut on the back of his leg. But probably because he was seen by a different doctor each time, the alarm was not raised. While lavishing love on her own daughter Parveen subjected Talha to weeks of abuse. On one occasion, she ordered Ikram to beat him with a plastic cricket bat. On September 6 last year Ikram called paramedics to say his son had stopped breathing. His death was caused by one final brutal attack in which he is believed to have suffered the broken thigh and three broken ribs. Ikram helped his lover flee to Pakistan while on bail. She was arrested at Heathrow airport when she returned to the UK. Both were cleared of murder and manslaughter but the jury found them guilty of causing or allowing Talha's death. Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith ordered that Parveen, who had her lover's baby in prison, be deported to Pakistan after her sentence. He said the final assault on Talha ? breaking a leg that had already been fractured ? "must have been a brutal attack by somebody intending to cause really serious harm to that poor child". He added: "You both know what really happened and to protect yourselves and each other have chosen not to tell the truth about it." A spokesman for Ealing Hospital said the "catastrophic injuries" which caused Talha's death had not occurred when he was seen seven times at the A & E department. "We did, of course, consider non-accidental injury," he said. "His father was very plausible in offering reasons for the injury. "We checked the child protection register and he wasn't on that." Two social services departments involved at Hammersmith and Fulham and Ealing. The death prompted an independent inquiry by the Ealing Safeguarding Children Board. September 6, 2007 BBC News BBC News Questions posed by Tahla's death A number of questions are posed about the handling of the case of 17-month-old Tahla Ikram, who died after abuse by his father Abid Ikram and his stepmother Sumairia Parveen. The death prompted an independent inquiry by the Ealing Safeguarding Children Board. WHEN DID SOCIAL SERVICES BECOME INVOLVED? Tahla and his family had been known to various agencies since 1997 and was under the care of social services shortly after his birth because there were concerns about the mental health of the biological mother. However, social services said there was no concern regarding Ikram's ability to care for the child even though he lied about his on-going relationship with the mother and the access he allowed her to have to Tahla while she was given treatment for her personality disorder. WHY WAS TAHLA RETURNED TO HIS FATHER? The final decision on returning Tahla to his father was made by a judge. He took into account a psychologist's report on Ikram and Parveen which said they were both safe parents. A report into the handling of Tahla's case does say the psychologist never spoke to Parveen on her own and she was always in the company of Ikram which may and have inhibited her from speaking freely about her true feelings for the child. Tahla was placed with foster parents when he was taken away from Ikram and social services noted he progressed well under their care. But the foster parents agreed the preferred way forward was placing the boy permanently with Ikram. Tahla was then placed with Ikram under a supervision order. WHY DIDN'T DOCTORS NOTICE ANYTHING WRONG? Ealing Hospital, where Tahla was taken to A&E, has said its doctors did consider recording Tahla's injuries as non-accidental. But a spokesman for the west London hospital said it did not have access to his records as Tahla was not on the child protection register as he was only under a supervision order. Doctors said Tahla's injuries were like those of a car crash victim A spokesman for the hospital did say they should have questioned the father more about his social services history and the doctors could also have spoken to a social worker at the A&E. The spokesman added the hospital "regretted" that it did not do so. The inquiry report also said recording on medical notes why an injury was deemed non-accidental would have meant the diagnosis of deliberate harm would have been more likely to be considered. The report added the problems may have been compounded by the recent rotation of doctors which take place at the hospital twice a year. It said the when Tahla was first taken in he would have been seen by doctors new to their posts and would have had very little clinical experience. WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED? The report into Tahla's death says: "At no time could it have been predicted that Tahla would be seriously physically harmed by his carers." But it does make some recommendations. It highlights the need to review the link between supervision orders and the child protection register (CPR). If Tahla had been placed on the CPR at the time he was placed under the supervision order, doctors at Ealing Hospital, and other agencies, would have been able to access his social services history. The report also called for better communication between agencies especially between the two social services departments involved at Hammersmith and Fulham and Ealing. Doctors at A&E should insure when treating children who may be at risk, they should also take a full social history as well as a medical one. The spokesman for Ealing Hospital has said many of these recommendations have already been implemented. |
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