A 25-year-old woman killed her two young daughters by throwing them into the Puzhal lake on Thursday afternoon.
She told the police that she took the extreme step as her first child had been suffering from severe epilepsy.
Ambattur police sources said Mareeshwari, a resident of Pudur Main Rain in Ambattur, left her house on Thursday morning with three-year-old Swetha and four-month-old Kavya and took an autorickshaw.
Around 12 p.m., she reached the Shanmugapuram area and waded into the Puzhal lake.
“She threw her two children in the water and they drowned. She claims to have attempted suicide by trying to drown herself in the lake but says she stopped after spotting villagers,” said an officer attached to the Ambattur police.
Officials at the Ambattur fire station were alerted and firemen rushed in and carried out a rescue operation. However, they managed to fish out only the infant’s body.
Swetha’s body is yet to be located. The search for the girl’s body is expected to continue on Friday.
The Ambattur police detained Mareeshwari who will be charged with the murder of her two daughters, sources said.
