Suspension for social worker in death case

Judyth Kenworthy had been warned that Sanam Navsarka had a bruise on her head and had been locked in a cupboard by her mother's sadistic partner, but dismissed it as "title tattle".

Two-year-old Sanam of Huddersfield, was found dead one week later in May 2008 with more than 100 injuries, including fractured legs and arms. Her fingerprints and blood were later found in the cupboard at her home.

The 48-year-old social worker for Kirklees Council initially denied having been told about the cupboard incident but a General Social Care Council committee in London found this to be untrue following witness statements.

Kenworthy admitted failing to pass on warnings about the bruise on the child's head saying she had been "extremely busy" at the time.

Explaining why she had failed to pass on information she told the panel: "I was trying to get to somewhere else, to go to an important meeting, and it was just one of those situations where it took over and that just didn't register as being vitally important and that was the mistake I made."

She added that she had never worked with children before.

Panel chairman Peter Jeffreys had said Kenworthy "sought to minimise" her prior knowledge that the child was being imprisoned and handed her the maximum suspension available of two years, saying she was guilty of "serious and multiple" failings.

But the panel stopped short of banning her for life and Kenworthy is still employed as a social worker by Kirklees Council, helping adults who had been adopted in their youth to trace their birth parents.

Last year Sanam's mother Zahbeen was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nine years imprisonment while her partner Subhan Anwar was convicted of murder and given a 23- year sentence.