The Selaiyur police have arrested a 38-year-old woman for killing her six-year-old stepdaughter, by throwing her from the third floor of their apartment complex in Sembakkam.
The police have identified the victim as Ragavi, daughter of Parthiban, a resident of Sembakkam, near Tambaram. He was working at a private firm in Thoraipakkam. The girl was born to his first wife and was studying in Class I of a private school in the area.
After his first wife died due to ill-health a few years ago, he married Suryakala. They have a son. According to the police, Suryakala was initially fond of her stepdaughter, but developed a strong aversion for the girl after the birth of her son. The girl was in the care of her grandmother, the police said. But as she had gone out of town, the child was left with Suryakala.
False claim
On Tuesday afternoon, Suryakala called her husband Parthiban, who was at work, and complained that the girl was missing. Parthiban frantically searched everywhere, and was shocked to see the child lying dead near the apartment. Suryakala claimed that the child must have accidentally fallen from the terrace while playing. After studying the crime scene, the police refused to believe her version.
Neighbours told the police about the aversion Suryakala had towards the girl. After sustained interrogation, Suryakala admitted to the crime. She confessed that she hit the child with a tile and then dragged her and threw her from the terrace. She told the police that in the initial days of her marriage, she had accepted the child as her own. But after she gave birth to her son, she felt distanced from the girl.
She was also unhappy after her husband asked her to get an abortion when she was pregnant a second time. Suryakala was remanded in judicial custody.
