MP woman tries to kill granddaughter, goes into hiding

BHIND DISTRICT, ABOUT 500KM NORTH OF STATE CAPITAL BHOPAL, HAS A HIGHLY SKEWED SEX RATIO

Madhya Pradesh police are on the trail of a 52-year-old woman from Bhind who allegedly tried to kill her two-and-ahalf-month-old granddaughter by stuffing tobacco in her mouth.

What’s more, her son told the police that she killed six of her daughters just after they were born.

The accused, Moharshree Yadav, is on the run, said police. Her husband, Prakash Yadav, was arrested. Both were booked under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, police added.

Bhind district, about 500km north of state capital Bhopal, has a highly skewed sex ratio (the number of females per 1,000 males). The accused is from a village in Bhind’s Mau block, which has an even worse sex ratio.

“Using a mixture of tobacco and lime to kill infant girls is a notorious practice in Bhind and other areas in Chambal division. The mix chokes the infant. Many such cases have been reported from the region,” said Bhopalbased child rights activist Prashant Dubey.

Bhind superintendent of police (SP) Anil Kushwaha told HT on Sunday, “The woman (Moharshree) has no daughter and two sons. We have been told that she killed her daughters. As of now, we have booked her under section 308 of IPC as we didn’t find tobacco in the mouth of the child. Appropriate sections of IPC will be added in the FIR if the charges regarding the woman killing her daughters are found true.”

The accused woman allegedly went into hiding after her son Pavan Yadav and daughter-inlaw Reema Yadav complained to the Bhind SP on Saturday that she tried to kill their infant daughter a day earlier.

In her complaint, Reema alleged that her mother-in-law’s behaviour towards her changed after she gave birth to a girl because she wanted a grandson.

Reema said she told her husband about his mother’s act and a fight broke out in their house at Lotharpura village. She alleged that her father-in-law supported his wife and threatened them.

“She (Moharshree) asked me to abandon my baby. When I refused, she tried to kill her,” Reema stated in her complaint.