A shocking incident of female infanticide has come to light from Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district where a father allegedly buried his 17-day-old daughter alive.
A 29-year-old daily wage labourer identified as D Varadharajan was arrested on Tuesday from Vadamaruthur village for killing the infant.
The girl is said to have been born on October 20 to Varadarajan and his wife K Soundarya who were married in August 2018.
Since the child’s birth, Varadarajan was reportedly upset, as he wanted a son. On Tuesday night, the accused secretly took away the baby when her mother was asleep. The accused then dug a pit near Thenpennai river, 500-meter away from his home, and buried his daughter alive.
She enquired with her husband, but he refused to respond properly. Hearing Sowndra’s cries, the couple’s relatives and other villagers rushed there and started looking for the missing baby.
They later alerted the police about the missing baby. After the accused confessed to his crime, the body of the infant was exhumed from the pit in the presence of police and other officials.
According to police, Varadharajan said he was confident of having a son and told her wife that if a girl child is born, he may not accept her.
A case has been filed against Varadharajan for their daughter’s murder. He has been booked under Section 302 (murder) and Section 315 (Act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
