Woman arrested for killing her month-old granddaughter in Haryana

A 58-year-old woman allegedly killed her month-old granddaughter by throwing her in a septic tank in Haryana's Nuh district, police said Wednesday.

Laxmi wanted her daughter-in-law, who already had two daughters, to give birth to a son, a Tauru police station official said.

"She did so because the couple had decided to undergo sterilization as they did not want to have more children after birth of the third child. The accused thought if she kills the third child, the couple may try to have another child which could be a boy," the police official said.

He said she dumped the month-old girl child in a septic tank in the house on the night of September 3-4. Later, the child's mother raised an alarm after finding her missing.

When the child was not found, the police were informed.

"Two days after the incident, we received information from an informer who indicated that the child could have been killed by her grandmother. When we questioned Laxmi, she confessed. The body was recovered and sent for a post-mortem examination," he said.

Laxmi was arrested Monday.

Notably, Haryana had the worst child sex ratio according to the 2011 Census (834 girls for every 1,000 boys against the national average of 918).

Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme, which aims at checking female infanticide and educating the girl child, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in January 2015. 

READ | Odisha Man Arrested For Raping Woman On False Promise Of Marriage

READ | Three Arrested For Rs 50-lakh Theft At Electronics Store