Gonda (UP), Oct 3 (PTI) A woman here claimed that her eight-month-old daughter went missing, prompting a police investigation that revealed she allegedly killed the child in a fit of rage after an argument with her husband over phone, officials said Thursday.
The incident took place on September 29 in Abhaipur village under the Parsapur police station limits.
Police said the girl child was often the focus of the couple's arguments, and the woman was also at time at the receiving end of "bitter remarks" directed at the child by neighbours.
The woman had allegedly thrown the girl into the septic tank of her house, within hours of an argument with her husband over a phone call on the night of September 29 (Sunday) and the next morning claimed that the child is amiss, they said.
The husband, Mata Pher, lives away in Mumbai for work while the wife, Jagmati, stays in the village with her in-laws, according to police.
"On Monday morning, Jagmati informed the family that her daughter Shagun was missing, suggesting that a wild animal might have taken her away," Gonda Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal said.
This claim prompted a search operation by local police and forest officials, but no trace of the infant was found. The police even deployed drones over farmlands to look for the child or wild animals, Jaiswal told PTI.
"However, on Monday evening, the body of the child was discovered in a septic tank behind Jagmati's house after rainwater was pumped out," he said.
"The postmortem report indicated no visible signs of injury. The cause of death was determined to be drowning," the district police chief said.
After this, police began questioning Jagmati and noted inconsistencies in her statements.
"Her responses raised suspicions. Upon rigorous interrogation, she confessed to killing her daughter," Jaiswal said.
According to police, Jagmati revealed that her husband had dispute with her for the past one year.
"She disclosed that they had argued multiple times over the phone on the night of the incident. In a moment of anger, she threw her daughter into the septic tank," Jaiswal said.
"The mother has been arrested for the murder of her infant daughter and has been sent to jail. We are proceeding with further legal action in the case," the SP added.