8-Year-Old Girl Dies After Angry Father Throws Her Into Well

A 42-year-old man who was angry with his wife for "not being able to deliver a male child" allegedly pushed her and their two daughters into a well, leading to the death of his minor child.

The incident happened Saturday, June 5, in Chhatarpur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.

According to the police, the accused, Raja Bhaiya Yadav's wife, had given birth to a girl child three months ago and had been living at her parents’ home for a while.

On Saturday, the accused was bringing his wife and two daughters back from his in-laws' house in the neighboring Panna district, when he stopped his motorcycle near a well, Sub Inspector Rajendra Singh of Chandla police station said.

In a fit of rage, the man threw his wife and both daughters into the well. The woman and the infant managed to survive the incident, however, his eight-year-old daughter drowned, police said.

"He pushed his wife and two daughters into the well. The accused even threw stones at his wife as she struggled to come out of the well. His eight-year-old daughter died, while the woman and her three-month-old daughter were rescued by villagers who heard their cries," NDTV quoted the police official as saying.

The woman, along with some of the locals, went to the nearby police station and filed a complaint against her husband who had fled the scene after the incident.

"His wife has told police that Yadav was angry at her for giving birth to a daughter again as he wanted a son," the police official said.

The suspect has been charged with murder and attempt to murder. A manhunt has been initiated to nab the suspect, Mr. Singh said.

This is an ongoing investigation and no further details were available at the time of this writing.

In a similar incident, a man allegedly killed his one-year-old son by smashing him against a boulder after his wife refused to give him money for alcohol.

On May 25, the accused, identified as Bhajan Metab Kawreti, a resident of Wakodi village in Maharashtra's Nagpur district, had a heated argument with his wife after she refused to give him money to buy alcohol.

The altercation escalated following which the accused picked up their son and smashed him against a boulder in the courtyard of their home.

Police officers responded to the home and arrested the suspect without incident.