Tamil Nadu Grandmother Arrested for Allegedly Strangling Newborn Granddaughter
A 55-year-old woman was arrested on Monday in Tamil Nadu's Erode district on suspicion of strangling her newborn granddaughter to death, police said. The infant was allegedly killed because the family already had a daughter and the grandmother desired a male child.
The accused, identified as Thangamani, was arrested following a post-mortem examination that confirmed the baby died due to strangulation. She was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.
According to police, the victim's mother, Priyadharshini (25), had given birth to a baby girl on July 18 at a private hospital in Bhavani. She and her husband Selvakumar already have a four-year-old daughter. Selvakumar was also admitted to the same hospital after reportedly suffering a seizure, leaving Thangamani and her son Bhoopathi to care for the newborn.
On the evening of July 18, hospital staff found the infant unresponsive and noticed injuries and bloodstains on her neck, nose, and chin. Despite being rushed to a children's hospital, the baby was declared dead on arrival.
Suspicious of foul play, hospital authorities alerted the Bhavani police, who registered a case of suspicious death and sent the body for post-mortem. The autopsy reportedly confirmed that the infant died due to strangulation.
During investigations, police questioned Thangamani, who allegedly confessed to killing the child. She told investigators that she had expected her daughter to give birth to a son and feared that Priyadharshini would struggle to raise two daughters without adequate support from her husband.
Based on the confession and forensic evidence, the police altered the case to murder and arrested Thangamani. Further investigation is underway.
The incident highlights the persistent issue of gender-based discrimination in parts of India, where a cultural preference for male children sometimes leads to female infanticide or neglect. Authorities have urged communities to reject such practices and uphold the equal value of every child.
