Telangana: Father drowns 10-month-old daughter

Hyderabad: A father killed his 10-month-old daughter by throwing her into a pond on Wednesday morning, at Jafarpalli village in Pargi mandal of Ranga Reddy district.

The baby, who was suffering from a chronic illness, had been discharged from hospital a couple of days ago.

The infant was identified as Shobitha, daughter of K. Venkataiah, 29, and Padmamma, 25, both labourers. The couple has another daughter — two-year-old Shivani. Venkataiah works in agricultural fields in the village.

According to the Pargi police, Shobitha was suffering from health issues since birth. She was taken to local doctors in the village for treatment. She was recently brought to Hyderabad where she was admitted to Niloufer Hospital. After treatment, she was discharged about two days ago.

However, there was improvement in her health and she wept constantly. She was crying on Tuesday night as well.

On Wednesday morning at around 7 am, while the other family members were asleep, the accused took the child to a pond about 2 km into the village and threw her. “She drowned and died instantly,” said a police official from Pargi.

Venkataiah returned home at around 10 am. Padmamma and the others grew suspicious and questioned Venkataiah about the missing child when he confessed to the crime. The relatives and villagers rushed to the pond and retrieved the body.

Based on a complaint, a murder case was booked and is being investigated. The accused was arrested but the police has not yet confirmed this.

The police also said that Venkataiah had been exhibiting symptoms of depression in the recent past.