Mumbai: Mom strangles daughter, tries to kill herself after family confrontation

The accused strangled her daughter with a dupatta. Representation Pic

A 42-year-old woman allegedly strangled her 11-year-old daughter and attempted suicide after a confrontation with her husband over taking her psychiatric medication in the Kulupwadi area of Borivli East on Thursday night. The woman, who sustained injuries from cutting her wrist with a blade, has been admitted to Shatabdi Hospital. According to Kasturba Marg police, the incident occurred around 8.30 pm when the woman locked herself with her daughter in their bedroom and strangled her with a dupatta after the daughter tried to persuade her to take her medication.

The police revealed that the accused had been undergoing psychiatric treatment for years and often became aggressive with her husband. On Thursday night, when the woman refused to take her medication, her daughter approached her father in the adjoining room and requested him to take a tablet just to demonstrate to her mother. After the father complied, the daughter returned to her mother to convince her to take her medicine, at which point the mother shut the door.

"When the father knocked on the door, the girl replied that her mother was not allowing her to open the door. This was the last sentence from the girl that her father heard. A couple of minutes later, he heard his wife screaming that she had killed her daughter and tried to commit suicide," said a police officer from Kasturba Marg police station.

"A few minutes later, when the father received no response to his subsequent knocks, he slid his mobile under the door and observed a pool of blood on the screen. He promptly called the police emergency number."

Upon breaking open the door, police discovered the girl's lifeless body on the floor with a dupatta wrapped around her neck, and her mother lying nearby in a pool of blood with a cut wrist. Both were rushed to Shatabdi Hospital, where the girl was pronounced dead on arrival, and the accused was admitted to the ICU due to significant blood loss," the officer added.

The police have registered a case of murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) against the mother. The husband shared that his wife, a makeup artist, was adopted by his father-in-law from the streets in her youth when she worked as a rag picker. After their marriage was arranged by her adoptive father 12 years ago, the couple ran a salon in Borivli East and lived in a rented apartment in the same building as the father-in-law.

The wife, who suffered from mental illness, fled to Gujarat with her daughter, who didn't believe in her mother's condition. Despite the husband convincing them to return to Mumbai, their relationship strained due to the wife's suspicions about his character. She had stopped taking medication, leading to escalating conflicts.

The complainant had sustained a throat wound from a blade during a prior altercation. The daughter remained supportive, and her diary, found during a search, contained poignant passages describing her emotions. The accused is under surveillance, and police plan to arrest her upon discharge from the hospital, pending statements from her adoptive father and psychiatrist for further insight into her illness.

42
Age of the mother