The toddler’s mother, Shivani, 28, was arrested after confessing to the crime. Initially, unsure of how to explain the situation to her family, she claimed the child was missing
Facing social stigma over the birth of her fourth girl child, a mother strangled her six-day-old daughter to death and then dumped the body in a bag on the roof of a neighbouring house in West Delhi’s Khayala area.
The toddler’s mother, Shivani, 28, was arrested after confessing to the crime. Initially, unsure of how to explain the situation to her family, she claimed the child was missing.
During initial questioning, the girl’s mother, Shivani, claimed that she had been discharged from the hospital the previous night and had returned to her parental home. She told the police that after feeding the baby around 2 a.m., she slept with the child beside her. When she woke up at 4:30 a.m., the baby was missing, Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer said.
The police officer said a team was formed to review CCTV footage from the neighboring area and search nearby houses.
“While the search was on, Shivani said she needs to go the hospital to get her stitches removed. This raised some suspicion but due to her medical condition, the police allowed her to go,” the DCP said.
Shivani revealed that the deceased was her fourth daughter, two of whom had already died. She cited social stigma as the reason for her actions. Overwhelmed by these thoughts while feeding the baby, Shivani smothered her daughter and then disposed of the body on the neighbouring roof, the DCP said.
Shivani has been arrested, and a case of murder has been filed. The Delhi Police are now awaiting the results of the post-mortem to verify her account and determine the exact cause of death.
(With inputs from PTI)
