Gurugram: Mother kills 2-year-old, attempts suicide after dispute

Husband broke open door after calls went unanswered; child found dead, woman critically injured and admitted to private hospital.

A two-year-old girl was allegedly murdered by her mother, who later attempted suicide, following a domestic dispute in Surya Vihar Colony in Sector 9, Gurugram, police said on Tuesday.

Child declared dead at Civil Hospital; woman referred to private facility; viscera preserved for forensic analysis. (Getty Images)

The incident came to light on Monday evening when the woman’s 31-year-old husband returned home early after she stopped responding to his calls. Police said he had asked her to let him speak to their daughter over the phone but received no response thereafter.

A senior police officer said the man reached home around 4.30pm, nearly two hours before his scheduled time, and found the door locked from inside. “He gathered the neighbours and broke open the door. The wife was lying on the floor while the daughter was unconscious on a bed,” the officer said.

Neighbours alerted the police control room, and both were taken to the Civil Hospital in Sector 10. Doctors declared the child dead, while the woman was referred to a private hospital where her condition remains critical.

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said the woman had smothered the child before attempting to slit her own throat with scissors. “Arguments took place between them in the morning and over the phone too when the man was in the office, after which the incident unfolded. The man said his wife had attempted to injure herself and the daughter earlier too,” he said.

The couple, married for four years, was originally from Uttar Pradesh and had moved to Gurugram in January. Probe also found that the woman had frequent disputes over staying with her in-laws in UP. An autopsy conducted by a board comprising Dr Lalit Chopra and Dr Manav Chauhan of Gurugram Civil Hospital’s forensic department found the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to smothering. “The girl was asphyxiated for three to five minutes”, Chopra said, adding that the viscera has been preserved for forensic analysis. Based on the husband’s complaint, a murder case was registered at Sector 9A police station on Tuesday.