ERODE: In a suspected case of female infanticide, the Erode district police on Monday arrested a 47-year-old woman on murder charge for allegedly killing her newborn granddaughter. The infant was the second female child of her daughter. The accused has been identified as G Thangamani of Chettimankurichi in Edappadi, Salem district.
According to police sources, Thangamani’s daughter S Priyadharshini (25), wife of Selvakumar (31), was admitted to a private hospital in Bhavani on July 17 after she developed labour pain. She delivered the baby girl through C-section around 4.40 am the next day. The couple already has a four-year-old daughter.
According to police sources, Selvakumar suffered a seizure and was admitted to the same hospital shortly after the birth. Thangamani and her son, Bhoopathi, then stayed at the hospital to care for the day-old infant.
Around 8.15 pm on Saturday, the ward nurse noticed that the baby was unresponsive and spotted injuries and bloodstains on the infant’s neck, nose, and chin. The baby was immediately referred to a nearby private children’s hospital, where the doctors declared her dead, sources said.
Based on suspicion, the hospital administration lodged a complaint at the Bhavani police station. Additionally, the body was sent to Government Medical College Hospital in Perundurai for postmortem.
Accused confesses to killing baby girl
The autopsy report confirmed that the baby died of strangulation. Following this, police intensified the investigation. During the inquiry, Thangamani allegedly confessed to killing the baby. “Thangamani said that she had been expecting a baby boy for her daughter.
She also stated that she thought Priyadharshini would struggle to raise two daughters amid lack of significant support from her husband,” police said. Erode Collector S Kandasamy said, “There have been no such incidents in Erode district for about seven years. Appropriate criminal action has been taken against the person involved in the matter.”