Mumbai: Man Strangles 4-Month-Old Daughter Over Unwanted Third Child
Mumbai, 3rd March 2025: A 40-year-old man allegedly strangled his four-month-old daughter to death on Friday, reportedly because he did not want a third child. The police have arrested the accused.
According to officials, the victim’s mother, 36-year-old Shailaja, who works as a house help, lives in Kamraj Nagar, Ghatkopar (East) with her husband, Sanjay Kokare, a daily wage laborer, and their three children.
Their youngest daughter, Shreya Sanjay Kokare, was born four months ago. However, given their financial struggles and the fact that they already had two children, Sanjay was reportedly unhappy about the third child. Police stated that he frequently argued with his wife after Shreya’s birth.
On Friday night, while Shailaja was at work, Sanjay allegedly used a rope to strangle Shreya in her cradle while she was asleep.
Upon returning home, Shailaja found her daughter unresponsive, and Sanjay pretended that Shreya had suddenly fallen ill. The couple rushed her to Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Suspicious of the circumstances, Shailaja informed the police that her husband had been upset about Shreya’s birth.
“After receiving a provisional post-mortem report indicating that the death was a homicide, we detained the accused and subjected him to sustained questioning, during which he confessed to killing the child,” said Ramesh Kewale, Senior Inspector of Pant Nagar Police Station.
“He thought he could deceive everyone, but we caught his inconsistencies. Under the guidance of our superiors, we solved the case within an hour,” Kewale added.
The police have obtained Kokare’s custody from the court until March 7 as investigations continue. He has been charged under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita.
