Man beheads infant daughter in Sambhal

MEERUT: In a shocking incident of what appeared to be human sacrifice, a man beheaded his onemonth-old daughter in village Narauli, under Baniather police station, in district Sambhal on Friday night. Police have arrested him.

The accused, Kalyan (28), allegedly picked up the baby while she was sleeping next to her mother and beheaded her with a sharp knife in front of pictures of Goddess Kali in another room of the house.

Praveen Solanki, station house officer of Baniather police station, said, “Kalyan was arrested from his house. He claimed he committed the crime under the influence of evil spirits.” Police have recovered pictures of Hindu deities and a sharp knife from the room where the beheading was carried out.

His wife Rani said she woke up around midnight and found her daughter missing from her side. She got up and peeped into another room where the light was switched on.

To her utter shock, she saw her husband holding a knife and the beheaded body of the infant lying in front of pictures of Goddess Kali. Hearing her screams, her mother-in-law and neighbours rushed to the room after which villagers reported the incident on the dial 100 police service.

SHO Solanki and ASP Pankaj Pandey arrived at the village with force and arrested Kalyan.

The accused runs a kiosk of essential commodities outside his house. He lived with his wife and two daughters - Sanjana (3) and the ill-fated baby.

His mother had only recently come to stay with them owing to her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy and delivery. Kalyan’s two brothers also live in the same village.