NAMAKKAL: A nine-month-old infant died near Kumarapalayam in Namakkal after being accidentally hit by a cooking vessel lid during a domestic dispute involving the child’s maternal grandfather.
Police identified the accused as Venkatachalam (41), a resident of Veppankadu Moodamangalam village near Veppadai in Kumarapalayam. Police sources said, Venkatachalam’s daughter, V Monisha (20), had entered into an inter-caste marriage with Mayilanandham (24) of Bhavani around two years ago, and the couple later had a nine-month-old son, M Joswik.
Police said Venkatachalam strongly opposed his daughter’s marriage from the beginning and had reportedly severed ties with her following her marriage.
However, after the birth of the child, Monisha, on the insistence of her mother, had been visiting her parental home frequently in an attempt to maintain family ties. Despite this, tensions between the father and daughter reportedly continued, with repeated verbal altercations breaking out whenever she visited, sources added.
On Wednesday, another argument allegedly broke out between Venkatachalam and Monisha, which escalated into a heated exchange. In a fit of anger, Venkatachalam allegedly threw a cooker lid towards his daughter, who was holding the infant in her hands at the time, but it accidentally struck the baby, causing the child to collapse and faint immediately.
Monisha and her mother rushed the infant to a nearby primary health centre, where doctors, after examination, declared that the baby had already died before reaching the centre. Following the incident, Veppadai police registered a murder case against Venkatachalam and arrested him.