Guj: Woman kills infant daughter four hours after birth

A 26-year-old woman allegedly strangled her newborn daughter to death four hours after giving birth to her at a referral hospital in Umbergoan of Gujarat's Valsad district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on December 27 when Anitadevi Dimple Bind, who hails from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly strangled her daughter who was born at around 4 pm on the same day, inspector J J Dabhi of Umbergaon police said.

The matter came to light after the woman's husband approached the on-duty doctor at around 8 pm saying his wife was finding it difficult to breastfeed the infant, who weighed 2.7 kg, he added.

On examination, the doctor found that the infant had died, following which a post-mortem was conducted at a hospital in Surat, the official said.

The post-mortem report indicated that the newborn had been strangled to death and marks were found on her face and neck, the inspector said.

The couple, who is staying in the Saket Nagar locality of Umbergaon, already have three daughters, the official said, adding that the alleged accused's husband works in a factory at Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation.

"A case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the woman, and an arrest will be made after gathering more conclusive evidence," Dabhi said.