TIRUNELVELI: A seven-year-old girl was beaten to death by her alcoholic father when she tried to intervene in a fight between her parents. The

took place in

district on Monday night but came to light only on Tuesday morning.

The district police have arrested both the father her mother for murdering the child and for trying to cover up the incident.

S Kailash, 37, and his wife Neelavathi, 32, are residents of Poonthatapuram Street in Ramalingapuram area in Vikramasingapuram. Police said the couple had two daughters who were studying Class VIII and II. Vikramasingapuram police identified the victim as Sugirtha, who was studying in Class II.

Preliminary inquiries had revealed that the couple quarrelled frequently due to Kailash’s addiction to liquor. The couple even lived separately for some time and started to live together only recently.

According to neighbours, on Monday evening, Sugirtha was playing in front of the house when her father called her. However, she ignored him and continued to play. Later that night, the

man

who had gone out, returned home in an inebriated condition, picked up a quarrel with his wife and beat her. Sugirtha tried to stop the attack on her mother.

An infuriated Kailash, who was already angry with his daughter for not responding to him in the evening, beat her up badly and threw her down. The girl became unconscious and was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The body was taken home immediately and the couple tried to cover up the murder by claiming that she fell down from the rooftop and succumbed to injuries.

The family also started preparing for her burial on Tuesday morning without informing the police. However, news of the girl’s death under suspicious circumstances reached the police, who went to the house and inquired with the family and neighbours.

Neighbours told the police about the couple’s quarrel the previous night, while the couple admitted to have murdered her and covered it up. The girl’s body was sent to the Tirunelveli Government Medical College and Hospital for autopsy.