An elderly couple in West Bengal killed their newborn daughter on Monday to protect their family members from getting humiliated and embarrassed in the Maynaguri area of the Jalpaiguri district.
The couple named Sumati and Dilip Chakrabarty had given birth to the sixth child in a row and all the other children are now grown up with their own families.
They also have grandchildren from their existing children. The fear of being boycotted or questioned by their children and grandchildren compelled them to take this step, according to the police official.
The victim’s father even admitted the crime in front of the court on Tuesday saying that they had recently got one of their daughters’ married and it would be extremely embarrassing for them to face the truth. When they learnt about the news of the wife getting pregnant they felt ashamed and killed the newborn child.
He also said that he is a daily wage worker and that they have very limited resources to and find it very hard to earn their livelihood.
Sumati and Dilip were arrested by the Maynaguri police station after the body of the child was found from a pond.
Trying to keep the murder a secret, the couple went to a relative’s place to kill the child after she was born. The husband strangled the baby using his wife’s sari and threw the body in a pond nearby. The body was spotted by the neighbours and reported to the police.
The couple was presented in a local court and kept in remand for three days on trial.