Mumbai: Woman drowns three-month-old daughter in water tank; arrested

Driven by the constant harassment by her husband and in-laws for a male child, a woman allegedly drowned her three-month-old daughter in a water tank at her home in Kalachowki area of central Mumbai, police said on Thursday. The incident took place at Sangharsh Sadan building in Ferbunder area of Kalachowky on Tuesday, an official said.

The 36-year-old accused had initially claimed that the baby had been kidnapped by an unidentified woman who had come to the house and administered a sedative to her on Tuesday, an official said.

Based on the mother’s complaint, the police had registered an FIR of kidnapping and had also issued a sketch of the suspected woman, he said. Teams were formed to track down the suspect and CCTV cameras installed in the area were examined, he said. A crime branch team on Thursday called the complainant and her husband to get more information about the incident, the official said.

During interrogation, the police took the woman into confidence and asked her if she had killed the baby, following which she broke down and confessed to the crime, he said. The accused revealed that she had thrown the infant in a water tank, kept in the loft inside the house, the official said. According to the police, the accused had gotten married in 2011 and had a daughter in 2013.

When the woman conceived for the second time, her in-laws used black magic to determine the sex of the child and forced her to undergo an abortion. The woman was similarly forced to undergo three more abortions, and when she conceived again, she was allowed to continue the pregnancy, the official said.

The accused was forced to undergo a caesarean in August and she gave birth to a baby girl, he said, adding that after the child’s birth, the family allegedly boycotted her. As the accused was alone, her parents came to live with her, he said. The police retrieved the child’s body from the water tank, the official said, adding that further probe is underway.