'Stigma' over 4th daughter: Delhi woman kills newborn

Facing social stigma over the birth of her fourth girl child, a 28-year-old woman killed her six-day-old daughter and threw her body on the roof of an adjacent house in west Delhi's Khayala area, police said on Saturday.

"A PCR call was received around 5.30 am on Friday, reporting that a six-day-old baby girl was missing. Given the sensitivity of the case, officers from the local police station immediately reached the spot," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer.

During initial questioning, the girl's mother, Shivani, claimed that she was discharged from the hospital the previous night and had returned to her parental home.

She told police that after feeding the baby around 2 am, she slept with the child beside her but when she woke up at 4.30 am, the baby was gone, DCP Veer said.

The police officer said a team was constituted to check CCTV footage from the neighbouring area and search nearby houses.

"While the search was on, Shivani said she needs to go the hospital to get her stitches removed. This raised some suspicion but due to her medical condition, the police allowed her to go," the DCP said.

Meanwhile, during the search, a bag was found on the roof of an adjacent house. Upon opening it, the police found the baby, who was immediately taken to the hospital, where the doctors declared her brought dead, Veer said.

The DCP said a police team was subsequently sent to a hospital, bus stations and Shivani's residence in Shahdara to trace her, who on being questioned broke down and confessed to the crime.

Shivani revealed during initial interrogation that the deceased was her fourth daughter, two of whom had already died. The accused cited social stigma as the reason for her actions, he said.

Overwhelmed by these thoughts while feeding the baby, Shivani smothered her daughter and then disposed of the body on the neighbouring roof. She later claimed the baby was missing as she was uncertain about what to tell her family, the DCP said.

Shivani has been arrested and a case of murder has been registered, Veer said.

The police are awaiting the results of the postmortem to verify the account of the accused and determine the exact cause of death, he added.