A 50-year-old woman allegedly killed her granddaughter of seven months by stuffing onion into her mouth and burning her in a range (tandoor).
The police arrested the woman on Thursday and produced her in court. She has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days. During interrogation, Surja Devi reportedly broke down and confessed to the crime. After burning the child in tandoor, she hid the body at home, waiting to dispose it.
Gurdip, Surja Devi's son and a resident of Lehrawali village, had complained to the police on Sunday that unknown persons had abducted his daughter Pooja.
Later Pooja's parents reported to the police the charred body was found in a sack outside their home. At that point the police suspected involvement of Pooja's family members.
Talking to Hindustan Times, SHO Jagdish Chander said Surja Devi "committed the murder" following a quarrel with the father of the victim's mother. She said her daughter Malkit Kaur alias Malkito, who is married to a person in Rajasthan, was staying with her after her relationship with her in-laws soured. This was not liked by Pooja's maternal grandfather, Joginder Singh, who had arranged Malkito's marriage. He had been pressuring Surja Devi for a long time to send her daughter back; else, Joginder would get his daughter (Pooja's mother) married to the estranged husband of Malkito. This statement supposedly led to the crime.