A newborn child in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district died after her mother allegedly cut off her extra fingers and toes with a sickle, PTI reported on Saturday. The baby was born last week with six fingers on both hands and six toes on both feet, and her mother was worried it would prevent her from getting married, an unidentified police officer said.

The congenital condition, called polydactyly or polydactylism or hyperdactyly, results in additional fingers and toes in humans and animals.

The mother, identified as Tarabai, had allegedly coated the baby’s injuries with cow dung, but the girl died within hours. She then buried the child, the officer said. The body was unearthed on Saturday for further investigation. The woman has not yet been arrested.

Superintendent of Police Ruchi Vardhan Mishra said a postmortem examination was conducted and the police would take further action after the medical report is submitted. Block Medical Officer Dr Shailendra Katariya said that authorities had initiated action against the local medical staff who were responsible for overseeing formalities related to childbirth in the village.