CHENNAI: A 25-year-old woman and her three-month-old daughter were found dead at their apartment in Aminjikarai on Friday night.
The deceased have been identified as P Dharini, an IT employee, and her daughter, Shreya. Dharini’s husband, Praveen (29), runs a tattoo shop in Nungambakkam.
The police said Dharini had been undergoing treatment for depression over the past few months. The incident happened when Dharini’s mother Veena was at home.
Dharini and the infant were found unresponsive in a room when Dharini’s mother-in-law returned to the house after taking her daughter to a a doctor later in the night. The two were rushed to KMC Hospital, where the doctors declared them dead.
Subsequently, the family lodged a complaint with the Aminjikarai police. The bodies were sent to KMC Government Hospital for postmortem.
Thew police said no external injury was found on the infant’s body during the preliminary examination. They added no family dispute had come to light during the initial inquiry. The exact cause of the infant’s death will be known only after getting postmortem and forensic reports.
As the couple had been married for less than five years, the case has been handed over to revenue officials for an inquiry, as per procedure. The officials from Ambattur revenue division and the assistant commissioner of police, Anna Nagar, are conducting parallel inquiries.
The Aminjikarai police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is under way.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on TN’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)