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Woman kidnaps, buries neighbour’s infant daughter alive in Ludhiana
The accused, 35, of Shimlapuri in Ludhiana, who was arrested, had an enmity with the child’s father, a constable in the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion, say police
A woman allegedly kidnapped the two-and-a-half-years old daughter of her neighbour in Shimlapuri locality of Ludhiana on Sunday and buried her alive in a field in the Salem Tabri area of the city, police said.
The accused, Neelam, 35, of Shimlapuri, who was arrested, had an old enmity with the child’s father Harpreet Singh, a constable in the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), officials said.
The police recovered the toddler on the information given by the accused but she died before she could be taken to hospital.
The police are also investigating the role of family members of the accused in the crime as it was difficult for her to bury the child in the pit on her own, officials said.
Joint commissioner of police (city) J Elanchezhian said that they received a call from Harpreet around 3.15pm that his daughter Dilroz Kaur was missing. “The police immediately started an investigation in the matter. After executing the crime, the woman returned home and started behaving normally,” he said.
The police checked the houses of the victim’s neighbours, including that of Neelam. When they scanned CCTV cameras installed in the area they spotted Neelam taking away the toddler on her scooter, the JCP said.
“The police rounded up the woman and questioned her. She confessed to the crime. We rescued the toddler and rushed her to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared her brought dead,” he added.
“Neelam is divorced and has been living at her maternal house with her two sons since 2015. Her sons had scuffled with other children in the street following which some residents had complained to her. Since then, she started believing that everyone was against her and her children. A few days ago Neelam had a spat with Harpreet and his wife over some petty issue,” he added.
A case of kidnapping and murder was registered against Neelam.
