Faridabad: In a heart-wrenching incident, a 32-year-old man from Faridabad allegedly killed his five-year-old daughter by strangling her after she failed to write numbers up to 50 as part of her school homework. The accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar, a daily wage laborer, surrendered to the police hours after the crime and has been arrested on charges of murder.
The incident, which sent shockwaves across Harayana, occurred late Friday night in the family’s modest one-room home in Sector 29’s Ballabgarh area. According to police, Kumar returned home exhausted from work and discovered that his litte daughter, Priya, had not completed her arithmetic assignment despite repeated reminders. Enraged by what he perceived as “laziness,” he flew into a rage. Eyewitnesses, including neighbours, reported hearing heated arguments and the child’s cries around 10 PM, followed by eerie silence.
“He kept beating her and then pressed her throat. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen,” a sobbing Sunita Devi, Priya’s mother, told reporters outside the Sadar Police Station. The couple who have been married for eight years had three children. Priya was the youngest.
Haryana Police have registered an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. “The accused confessed during interrogation. We recovered the child’s notebook with incomplete numbers 1 to 50 scribbled messily,” said SHO Vikram Singh. A post-mortem at the Civil Hospital confirmed asphyxiation as the cause of death. Kumar, now in judicial custody, claimed temporary insanity due to stress but faces life imprisonment.
Child rights activists condemned the incident, urging stricter awareness campaigns on positive parenting. “Homework shouldn’t cost a child’s life. We demand counseling for at-risk families,” said Pooja Sharma of the Haryana Child Welfare Committee.
Local authorities have taken Priya’s siblings into protective custody.
