A couple from Aurangabad was arrested on Monday night for allegedly choking their eight-day-old daughter to death.
According to the Aurangabad police, the incident occurred in the Mundwadi village in Kannad taluka. The police received an anonymous complaint earlier this week alleging that Mundwadi residents Ankush and Ranjana Jadhav had killed their newborn daughter last month, and buried her in their farm.
“When we took the Jadhav couple into custody for questioning, they confessed to have stuffed tobacco in their eight-day-old daughter’s mouth and choking her to death. The couple then buried the dead body,” said Deepak Salunkhe, assistant superintendent of police, the Kannad police station.
During interrogation, Ankush had said that he suspected that the girl was not his daughter, and had coerced Ranjana into participating in the crime.
“The girl was born just five months after the couple got married, which made Ankush suspect that Ranjana had been having an affair before marriage. The Jadhavs as well as Ankush’s father and brother were placed under arrest on Monday,” Mr Salunkhe added.
In another incident in Nashik, the body of a six-month-old girl was exhumed after her father alleged that she had been murdered. The police said that the girl, named Didi Thombre, died in October 2011, and her mother had given a statement that she was bitten by a snake.
“Last month, Didi’s father Sanjay had lodged complaint saying that he suspected his wife of poisoning the child. We have sent the remains for forensic analysis,” said an officer with the Nashik police.