Facing Social Stigma For Bearing 4 Daughters, Delhi Woman Kills 6-Day-Old Girl, Dumps Body On Roof

Female Infanticide In Delhi: A 6-day-old girl was strangled, packed in a bag, and dumped on the roof of a house by her mother — all because she was a girl.

A 6-day-old girl was found murdered in Delhi's Khyala early on Saturday. What is more shocking is the fact that it was none other than the mother of the newborn who killed her. The woman even confessed to the crime, the police said.

Around 5:30 AM on Saturday, the Police Control Room received a distress call from the Khyala Police Station area, reporting the missing of a newborn baby girl. The police spoke to Shivani, a 28-year-old woman who had given birth just six days earlier. Shivani, who had been discharged from the hospital the previous night, told the police that she had returned to her parental home and slept beside her baby after feeding her around 2:30 AM. When she woke up at 4:30 AM, the baby was missing.

In response, a police team was formed to search the neighbourhood. The team also checked CCTV footage and inquired in the locality. As the search continued, Shivani mentioned that she needed to go to the hospital to have her caesarian stitches removed, a request that the police did not oppose due to her condition.

Infant Packed In Bag, Discarded On Roof

During the search, the police team made a grim discovery. A bag was found on the roof of an adjacent house, and inside, they found the missing baby. The infant was immediately rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, the baby was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the behaviour of the mother, Shivani, was found to be suspicious. The police sent teams to the hospital, bus and metro stations, and the family's residence in Shahdara to locate Shivani and her husband. Once found and questioned, Shivani broke down and purportedly confessed to the crime.

Social Stigma Led To Murder Of Infant

During the initial interrogation, Shivani revealed that this was her fourth daughter. She lost two of her previous children. She said she was facing social stigma for "not being able to bear" a son. Overwhelmed, Shivani smothered and strangled the baby while feeding her newborn. She then packed the infant in a bag and threw the body onto the roof of the adjacent house.

After committing the crime, she panicked and did not know how to explain the situation to her family. This was why she claimed that the baby was missing. A murder case has been registered against Shivani. However, the police will wait for the autopsy report to verify her claims and determine the exact cause of death.