india

Updated: Oct 09, 2019 17:59 IST

A 26-year-old woman in Chennai allegedly killed her six-year-old stepdaughter by throwing her from the terrace of three-storey an apartment building Tuesday evening after she had passed out following a hit on the forehead, police said.

Police arrested the woman on Wednesday after she broke down during interrogation.

According to Y Srinivasan, Inspector of Selaiyur police station, the accused Suryakala, initially claimed that she was innocent. Suryakala, a resident of Sembakkam on the outskirts of Chennai, had married Parthiban in 2017 after his first wife died in 2016. The victim was the man’s daughter from his first wife. The family lived in the second floor of the apartment.

“When Suryakala’s husband had gone to his friend’s house on Tuesday, he was told that his daughter was missing for more than three hours. When he returned home, a weeping Suryakala told him that the girl was missing since 2pm. After an hour-long search, Parthiban traced his daughter’s body outside apartment where she lay dead. As the body was lying close to the wall, he thought the child could have fallen from the terrace while playing,” said a police officer who had reached the crime spot first.

Police became suspicious of Suryakala after she gave contradictory answers during the investigation.

Police also retrieved CCTV footage of the incident from a nearby apartment complex. In the footage, Suryakala is seen moving outside the apartment.

Since Tuesday was a holiday due to Vijayadashami, the girl, a Class I student, was home with her stepmother.

“Suryakala disliked her stepdaughter. She first hit the child on her forehead with a piece of stone. As the six-year-old collapsed, Suryakala panicked and took her to the terrace and threw her down to make it look like an accidental death,” the police said.

Suryakala also has a one-year-old boy baby with her husband who works in a private firm. To look after his daughter from first marriage, he had married Suryakala.

Explaining the motive for the murder, the police said, “Suryakala told the police that she had recently become pregnant for the second time. However, her husband asked her to abort it, citing that they already have two children. It added fuel to Suriyakala’s rage on the stepdaughter. Therefore, the accused decided to eliminate the girl. We have taken the accused to the medical check-up to find out whether she is actually pregnant or not,” the cops added.

The child’s body has been sent for post-mortem to Chennai’s Chromepet Government Hospital.

“It is an open and shut case of murder since the accused herself has confessed to the crime, apart from the CCTV footage. We have booked an FIR under IPC section 302 (Punishment for murder) against the arrested. We will produce Suryakala before a local court at Tambaram late in the evening seeking remand to aid further investigation,” said police inspector Y Srinivasan.