Mother kills daughter of age three, attempts suicide

A woman with a suicidal tendency attempted suicide after killing her daughter. A case of murder and attempt to suicide has been registered by the HAL police.

Bengaluru: In a shocking incident, a 23-year-old woman allegedly killed her daughter of three-and-a-half years and later tried to die by suicide at her home in Gururaja Layout in Doddanekundi near HAL on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. Gayatri Devi, the mother, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital while the child identified as Samyukta was declared dead by the doctors. Gayatri Devi was staying in a rented house with her child and husband Narendran (30).

According to police, the incident came to light when Narendran returned home around 4.30 in the morning. Getting no response to his repeated knocks on the door, he looked in through the window and was stunned to find Gayatri hanging from a ceiling fan. He immediately broke open the door and untied her. Their daughter was lying next to a bathtub with her face and chest dipped in water.

"Gayatri was admitted to the ICU and is responding to the treatment. Her statement will be taken once the doctors give clearance. Prima facie it appears that Gayatri killed her baby by putting her head in the tub and later attempted to kill herself," a senior police officer said. "I do not have the strength to cope with the hardships. If I die, there is no one to take care of my child. So, I am killing the child and committing suicide. No one is responsible for my death," read the suicide note purportedly left by Gayatri. Narendran had gone to visit his ailing father in Erode of Tamil Nadu. His mother died by suicide 20 days ago and it is suspected that Gayatri might have been influenced by that. The HAL police registered a case of murder and attempt to suicide.