A 28-year-old man from Maharashtra arrested for allegedly killing his six-year-old daughter. The reason was to qualify to run in the upcoming gram panchayat elections, according to police officials. He drowned the child in a canal in neighboring Telangana to meet the state’s two-child rule for local body elections.
Man arrested for killing daughter for Maharashtra village elections
Investigators say the man, who lives in Kerur village in Mukhedtaluka of Nanded district, has three children and wanted to run for the position of sarpanch. Candidates with more than two children cannot compete in panchayat elections in Maharashtra. He allegedly decided to eliminate one child to fit the requirements.
Police said the incident occurred on January 29. The man took his daughter on a motorcycle to Nizamabad district in Telangana and threw her into a canal, about 90 kilometers from their village. The girl died instantly. Local residents later found her body and notified the police.
Police shared the pictures of dead body
During the investigation, police shared photographs of the deceased child, leading to identification by residents from Mukhed. A police team then went to Kerur village in Maharashtra and confirmed her identity. Investigators discovered that the accused, who runs a salon and lives with his wife and three children, had looked into other ways to bypass the two-child rule. He tried to change his son’s birth records and even contacted authorities in Pune, but these efforts failed.
Police also revealed that the sitting sarpanch had suggested putting one of the children up for adoption to fulfil eligibility rule. When that plan fell through, the accused reportedly opted to kill the child and intended to report her as missing.
Both the father and the sitting Sarpanch have been arrested in connection with the case. Police have stated that charges now include murder, kidnapping, and other related offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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