New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS): Battling for survival at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), two-year old baby Falak continued to be stable but in a critical condition even as doctors kept draining the infected fluid in the baby's brain till early Wednesday.

"We decided to put in a lumbar drain which is a tube in the spine. It was done around 1 a.m. and the brain fluid has been successfully drained," said Deepak Agrawal, associate professor of neurosurgery at the AIIMS trauma centre.

"Her condition is stable, but very critical. We are giving culture-sensitive antibiotics to the child and it's very early to say if they will have their effect on the baby today (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday)," Agrawal added.

The toddler was left by a teenaged girl at the trauma centre Jan 18 with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, human bite marks on her tiny frame and a clot on the right side of her brain. The teenager, who claimed to be her mother, is now in a juvenile home.

While the police continued its search for key-accused Raj Kumar Gupta, who had left the baby with the teenager, doctors say it's a race against time to save the toddler from deadly brain infection. Falak is on ventilator.

"Brain infection is a very devastating thing, her chances of survival are now less than 50 percent. Her neurological condition remains the same as she remains deeply comatose," Agrawal told reporters.