A 25-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday on charges of killing her nine-month-old girl in a village in Dharmapuri district a few days ago.
Police said V. Punitha (25), wife of Varadarajan (28), a daily wage earner belonging to Palappanaalli village near Palacode in the district, had allegedly committed the crime after the baby was given vaccination at the Primary Health Centre in Kummanur on January 8.
Punitha allegedly broke the child’s neck and brought her back to Primary Health Centre in the evening claiming that the baby fainted at home. Doctors pronounced the baby as brought dead. Punitha even lodged a complaint with the Panchapalli police that the baby died after the vaccination. The body was sent to Palacode Government Hospital for post-mortem.
Suspicion over the cause of death heightened when it was confirmed that three other children vaccinated on the day were healthy. The post-mortem also revealed that the child’s neck was broken.
Based on the post-mortem report, police questioned Punitha on Saturday.
Police said she confessed to having committed the crime after she became vexed over derogatory remarks by relatives over her giving birth to the third girl child.
Punitha was arrested and a case was registered against her under Section 302 (murder), 201 (giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code. She was produced before the Pennagaram Judicial Magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
