TIRUPATI: A woman allegedly strangled her three-year-old daughter in Tirupati on Tuesday night and buried the body with the help of her alleged lover, police said.
Police identified the accused as Ashalatha. Police said she believed the child was an obstacle to her personal life and extramarital relationship.
According to Police, Ashalatha strangled her daughter to death. To avoid suspicion, she told her family and neighbours that the child suffered fits and died before she could be taken to hospital. She then called her alleged lover and, with his help, buried the body secretly outside the village without informing officials.
The incident surfaced days later and triggered outrage in the locality. The child’s grandmother, Nagaratnamma, approached police after she noticed suspicious behaviour by Ashalatha. She told police that she had not seen her granddaughter for several days and had observed unusual behaviour of Ashalatha.
When questioned about the child, Ashalatha allegedly gave inconsistent answers.
Nagaratnamma then filed a complaint. Based on the complaint, East Police registered a case and initiated an inquiry. During interrogation, Ashalatha allegedly confessed to killing her daughter and led police to the burial site. Revenue officials identified the body on Wednesday and authorities sent it for postmortem.
Police took Ashalatha and her alleged lover into custody. The incident triggered strong reactions in the community. Further investigation is on.