Accused of infidelity, woman kills 2-year-old daughter, drowns self

Mumbai, June 22: After being accused of infidelity by her husband, a 23-year-old Charkop resident drowned her two-year-old daughter in the sea before committing suicide six days ago. The Charkop police arrested her husband and in-laws of the woman yesterday, after her parents claimed that she had committed suicide due to their torture.

On June 14, the woman, identified as Ranjana Dayal had left her house along with her daughter Gayatri. After failing to return, the former's husband Kishan registered a missing person's complaint.

According to the police, last Thursday, Ranjana took her daughter to Aksa beach. There, she first submerged her daughter and held her forcibly under water until she died and then she committed suicide by drowning. The bodies of mother and daughter were discovered the following day behind the INS Hamla in Malad (W). The police sent a wireless message and learnt about the missing case. Subsequently, the Malwani police registered a case of accidental death.

However, Ranjana's parents who stay in Samta Nagar, claimed on Tuesday to Charkop police officers that their daughter had been forced to commit suicide as she was being harassed and tortured by her in-laws. Based on the statement of Ranjana's father and sister, the Charkop police arrested the latter's husband, father-in-law Lalmohan and brother-in-law Mohan on Wednesday.

Ranjana's father Parisingh said that they are residents of Mumbai, but their daughter had been married to Kishan in Nepal. While her husband resided in Charkop, Ranjana stayed in Nepal, until she returned two months ago with their two-year-old daughter Gayatri. "Since then, Ranjana was being beaten up by Kishan who suspected that she had an affair," said Parisingh.

She had called up her sister Shanti, a resident of Delhi, many times to complain, but Shanti consoled her and assured her that everything would be alright.

"On the day of her death, Ranjana had called me and told me that Kishan and her in-laws had beaten her, accusing her that her daughter was illegitimate. I told her to keep calm until I came," said Shanti.

On June 15 when Shanti learnt about Ranjana's death, she called up her father and told him about her conversation with Ranjana. On Tuesday when Shanti came to Mumbai, they registered a case with the Charkop police.

API Anand Murliyar from the Charkop police station said, "We have arrested four people after we recorded the statement of the victim's father and are now conducting further enquiries."