Grandmother arrested for allegedly strangling 20-day-old baby girl in Tikamgarh

A 20-day-old baby girl was allegedly strangled to death by her grandmother in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district as she wanted a boy, police said on Sunday. The incident took place in Banne Buzurg village under Palera police station limits. The accused, Rekha, 60, has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

According to police, the baby’s father, Dhaniram, works as a labourer in Delhi, while his wife, Pukkhan, had been staying at her in-laws’ house during her pregnancy. She gave birth to a girl 20 days ago.

Police said the grandmother had been unhappy since the child’s birth and allegedly taunted her daughter-in-law for not giving birth to a boy. Investigators said that around 3 am, while the mother and the infant were asleep, the accused allegedly picked up the baby, took her outside the house and strangled her. She then placed the body back beside the sleeping mother. When the mother woke up and found the baby unresponsive, she raised an alarm. Family members gathered, and the grandmother allegedly tried to portray the death as natural while arranging local faith-healing rituals.

After receiving information, Palera police reached the spot. During inspection, officers noticed marks around the infant’s neck, raising suspicion. Sustained questioning of the mother and the grandmother led to the truth coming to light, police said. Police said the accused was arrested and produced before a court, which remanded her to judicial custody.

A case of murder has been registered and further investigation is underway.