3-Year-Old Girl's Body Exhumed After Father Raises Suspicions Of Murder, Her Mother's Paramour Arrested

A 3-year-old girl who was initially declared dead due to poor health has now proved to have been murdered by her mother’s paramour.

The child was declared dead and buried on June 1 in Visakhapatnam, India.

On Saturday, June 5, Visakhapatnam police arrested the accused, 28-year-old Bora Jagadish, for the murder of 3-year-old Sindhu Shri.

The girl’s father, B. Ramesh, and her mother, Varalakshmi, had separated over differences, some time ago. The girl had been living with her mother after she got custody of the child following the separation.

During her days as a single mother, Varalaxmi developed a relationship with the accused, a married man with children.

According to a report from the Times of India, on June 1, the toddler was rushed to a nearby private hospital reportedly with a high fever. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

While the suspect made arrangements to bury the girl’s body, her mother called her father and told him about their daughter’s sudden demise.

However, the father got suspicious and alerted the police to investigate the child’s death. He filed a complaint accusing his estranged wife and her paramour of murdering his daughter.

The police registered a complaint under Section 174 of CrPC (Code Of Criminal Procedure) and began an investigation.

The child’s body was exhumed and sent to a medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the child’s mother and her lover were having financial problems. According to police, on June 1, Varalaxmi had left her home to arrange some money. However, her efforts were in vain and she returned home empty-handed.

The suspect was reportedly angry with the woman for not bringing the money that she had promised to arrange. In a fit of rage, the accused began physically assaulting the toddler during which she became unresponsive and later died at the hospital, police said.

The exact cause of death was unclear at this time. The suspect was arrested without incident. He is now facing murder charges.

In a similar incident, an 8-year-old girl died after her father pushed his wife and two daughters into a well on Saturday, June 5.

The 42-year-old suspect was reportedly angry with his wife for "not being able to deliver a male child". The woman and their 3-month-old daughter managed to survive the incident.

A manhunt has been initiated to nab the suspect who fled the scene after the incident.