Where female infanticide is a significant social phenomenon and a belief that a boy extends the lineage of the family, a father of two sons allegedly killed his third newborn son on being upset that his wife did not deliver a daughter.
The incident occurred in village Bajrawada in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district, which has a significant percentage of tribal population. Police arrested the accused Anil on Monday.
According to Kotwali police station in-charge Ashish Singh Pawar, the accused was in an intoxicated condition when he entered into an argument with his wife, who had given birth to the couple’s third son about 12 days ago. They already have two sons who are five and seven years old.
The accused began beating his wife during the argument and the woman ran outside the house to save herself, leaving behind the newborn in the house.
Police said the accused is suspected to have strangulated the infant boy to death in a fit of rage. Initial investigations pointed to the fact that Anil wanted to have a daughter, as the couple already has two sons. However, his wife gave birth to another son and that might have triggered anger and disappointment in the accused, and he allegedly killed the infant boy.
The police have booked the man on charges of murder under Section 302 of the IPC and further investigations are on in the matter.
According to health data, Betul district has a sex ratio of 970 females for every 1,000 males.