A 30-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter as he suspected his wife of having an illicit affair and did not want the victim to grow up under her influence, the police said on Thursday.
Malkit Singh, who had a strained relationship with his 28-year-old wife, tried to hang himself after the incident, they said.
Singh lived with his wife and daughter at a rented house in Udai Vihar.
The incident took place on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Couple was ‘drunk’
The couple was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol although a medical report is awaited, the police said.
They said the couple had a fight prior to the incident. Troubled over constant fights, the couple had initially planned to send the victim to her grandparents’ house and kill themselves, the police said.
On the night of the incident, when his wife fell asleep, Singh strangulated his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter with a dupatta and later tried to hang himself, the officer said.
When his wife woke up, she raised an alarm. The couple fought again during which Singh threatened his wife that he would kill her if she reported the incident to anyone, the police said.
They took the body of the child to Singh’s parents’ house in Tilak Nagar.
‘Died due to illness’
The duo told them that the child died of prolonged illness, a senior officer said.
Meanwhile, their landlord at the Udai Vihar house informed the police on Wednesday morning that Singh had killed the child. When the police reached the house, they learnt that the couple had gone off to Tilak Nagar.
The accused father was arrested from Tilak Nagar while the child was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, the officer added.
The body has been sent for post-mortem, the police said.
Singh, an alcohol addict, worked as a delivery boy with a food joint and left his job two months ago after failing to get incentives.
His wife, who at times worked at a private firm, got married to the accused in 2014. The investigation is under way to ascertain the sequence of event, the police added.