Couple came from West Bengal

Child was alive after being flung once

BENGALURU: A seven-year old girl died after her mother allegedly flung her down twice to the ground from the terrace of their four-storey residential building, near Sri Rama Temple at Jaraganahalli in JP Nagar, South Bengaluru , on Sunday afternoon.Shreya aka Aishika Sarkar died instantly. Police arrested her mother Swathi Sarkar , a former schoolteacher, and rescued her from an irate mob that caught her and tied her to an electric pole.Police suspect the woman was mentally unstable. They said the child suffered from speech development issues and had recently started speaking incoherently. The woman's estranged husband, Kanchan Sarkar, a senior business analyst with a multinational IT company and a resident of Indiranagar, told police that his wife would often fly into a rage, lose control over herself and assault the child. The family is from West Bengal.Police said that the incident took place around 3.30pm Sunday. The mother and daughter stayed on the third floor of the building.Swathi allegedly took her daughter to the terrace and threw her to the ground. She hurriedly rushed down, picked up the girl lying on the ground, and rushed up to the terrace. Some residents of the building noticed Swathi carrying the bleeding child and asked the woman what had happened. Swathi shouted at them to mind their own business and reached the terrace, from where she allegedly again threw the girl down, neighbours told police. The child was in shorts at the time. The public noticed that the woman was in a hurry to flee the scene. They caught her and tied her to an electric pole nearby, and informed us. We took her into custody for interrogation," a police officer said.The woman reportedly told police that nobody had the right to question her about the incident as she could do whatever she wanted with her daughter, the officer said.Preliminary investigation said Swathi and Kanchan came to Bengaluru from Bankura in West Bengal's Bardhaman district nine years ago, and were living in the Jaraganahalli house. The duo had fallen in love when they were in West Bengal and came to Bengaluru where they married against their parents' wishes. The couple had no contact with their relatives or their natal homes.A few years ago, the couple developed differences. Kanchan moved out of the house to live separately near his office in Indiranagar in East Bengaluru, and would visit his wife once a month to give her money for maintenance.Swathi, who was initially teaching in a private school, quit the job two years ago.Police summoned Kan chan, who turned up immediately. "Kanchan said she would often quarrel with him, forcing him to live separately. She would lose control over herself during the fights and also assault her daughter," police said.Seven-year-old Aishika Sarkar was alive after her mother flung her to the ground from the terrace of their building in Jaragana halli, a neighbour said. "I was sleeping when I heard a huge noise around 3.30pm, and I ran out to see what had happened. I noticed Swathi, clad in a nightie, holding her daughter who was bleeding profusely. The child was crying and writhing in pain. I asked Swathi what had happened. She shouted at me and ran towards the terrace and threw the girl to the ground," a woman, who has been Swathi's neighbour for nine years, told TOI on condition of anonymity. Swathi returned home hurriedly and changed her dress. "She came out wearing a salwar-kameez, and carrying a purse and mobile phone. She hurried down the stairs but by that time, people had gathered. They caught her and tied her to a pole before informing police," the woman said.Swathi appeared to have become mentally unstable after her husband started living separately, she added. "The girl was very slow to learn how to talk, and started speaking only recently . The couple had not admitted her to school. She was being cared for by her mother till this tragedy," another neighbour said.Puttenahalli police said they have taken up a case of murder and shifted the body to KIMS Hospital for postmortem, which could be held on Monday. A further probe is under way.