Girl child unwanted? Odisha man administers ‘poison jab’ to 20-day-old daughter; infant hospitalised

Even words fall short to describe the inhuman act where a man attempted to kill his own 20-day-old infant, just because she was a girl. The incident has been reported from Singhiri village in Odisha’s Balasore district on Monday.

As per reports, the accused, identified as Chandan Mahana had married Tanmayi last year. It was 20 days back the couple was blessed with a girl child. Tanmayi’s parents said that their son-in-law had come to their house yesterday.

“My son-in-law was near the child when he administered poison. On hearing the child’s cry, my daughter rushed to the spot and saw that her husband was sitting near the baby. However, he did not admit it initially. But later confessed to having administered poison with the help of a syringe as he did not want the girl child,” said Bhagirathi Singh, the victim's grandfather.

Following the incident, the family members rushed the infant to Balasore hospital where she is now undergoing treatment in the ICU.

According to Singh, his family had completed all the required preparations to observe the 21st-day rituals of the newborn tomorrow.

The accused has been detained by police and further investigation in connection with the incident is underway.