The parents of an 11-month-old girl allegedly murdered her during a domestic quarrel and then tried to pass off her death as an accident, police said on Tuesday. The father has been arrested, while the mother is absconding.
Police registered a murder case a month after the infant’s death following fresh forensic evidence, Saidulu Adavath, deputy commissioner of police, Whitefield Division, said.
The Avalahalli police arrested the 22-year-old tractor driver on Monday in connection with the June 9 death at Kithaganur village in Bidarahalli Hobli on Bengaluru’s eastern outskirts. His wife has not yet been traced and is believed to be with the couple’s one-and-a-half-year-old son.
The investigation began after police registered an unnatural death report based on the parents’ claim that the infant had slipped from a cot while being breastfed and suffered fatal injuries. The body was subsequently sent for an autopsy.
According to investigators, the post-mortem report, received on June 22, found multiple external injuries and damage to the infant’s internal organs. It concluded that the child died due to excessive bleeding and respiratory failure. Based on the findings, police registered a murder case.
“The autopsy found several external injuries along with trauma to the infant’s internal organs. During the investigation, we questioned both parents, but neither explained how the child sustained those injuries. The father was arrested after we examined the medical evidence, statements from eyewitnesses and other circumstantial material collected during the probe,” an investigating officer, requesting anonymity, said.
{{/usCountry}}“The autopsy found several external injuries along with trauma to the infant’s internal organs. During the investigation, we questioned both parents, but neither explained how the child sustained those injuries. The father was arrested after we examined the medical evidence, statements from eyewitnesses and other circumstantial material collected during the probe,” an investigating officer, requesting anonymity, said.
{{/usCountry}}Police alleged that the fatal assault took place during a heated argument between the couple inside a shed between 2 pm and 3 pm on June 9. Investigators said the dispute began after the man returned home and asked his wife to serve him food. As the argument escalated, the infant began crying.
The mother allegedly kicked the child, after which the father assaulted his wife. During the altercation, police said, the child came between them and the father picked her up and threw her out of the shed. The infant was later taken to a private hospital, where she was declared dead.
“Both, in a fit of rage, allegedly kicked and violently threw the infant to the ground despite knowing that it could lead to the child’s death,” an officer said.
Another investigating officer said the inquiry pointed to deliberate violence rather than an accident.
“The investigation indicated that the child’s death could be because of such acts and the infant was intentionally killed,” the officer said.