Mother allegedly strangles, tries to pass it off as an accident in Delhi

A seven-month-old was allegedly killed by her mother in Delhi on August 20, said the police. The baby girl's mother, who tried to pass off the murder as an accident, has been arrested by the Delhi Police on Saturday. The accused has admitted that she believed the infant was responsible for the family's "medical and financial problems," the police told news agency ANI.

A 27-year-old woman, Adiba has been identified as the mother.

On August 20, doctors at Moolchand Hospital alerted the police that a baby girl was brought by her parents. The parents told the doctors that the baby had drowned in a bucket but during observation of the body, the police noticed that there were marks on the neck. The police sent the body to All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for port-mortem.

The post-mortem report said "the cause of death is fatal pressure over the neck," said the police. Also, as per the report there was no water in the internal organs of the baby.

Adiba was questioned by the police as she was the only person present at home when the incident took place. On interrogation, she broke down and confessed to killing her daughter, said the police. She said that since her daughter's birth, their entire family was facing medical and financial problems. She decided killing the baby was the only solution for their financial problems, said the police.

The police said Adiba strangulated the baby with her dupatta, when no one was at home and later put her in a bucket of water to show she died due to drowning. Later she put the baby on the bed and went to her husband's tailoring shop nearby and informed him. The police have recovered the dupatta used for killing the baby.