Woman kills daughters, self

Frustrated with her husband’s joblessness and the ensuing financial difficulties, a 30-year-old woman allegedly murdered her eleven month-old baby girl, before committing suicide along with her daughter at her house near Banashankari here on Sunday evening.

Gayathri, a housewife, said to be upset over her family’s deteriorating finances, first drowned her eleven month-old infant, Vibha, in a bucket of water before putting a rope around the neck of her another daughter, the three-and-a-half-year-old Mahika. She then herself embraced the same noose, and both the mother and the daughter hung from the hook of the ceiling fan.

Gayathri first drowned Vibha in a bucket of water. When the infant succumbed to death, she took Mahika along, and made her commit suicide. The incident reportedly occurred sometime between 6 and 8 pm when Gayathri’s husband Balaji (36) was not at home. In a suicide note, Gayathri said that she herself took the extreme step and no one else was responsible.

The couple hailed from Andhra Pradesh and was married for six years. They were living in a rented house for five years. The landlord, who insisted on anonymity, said that the couple was well-mannered. “They never quarrelled and were well-behaved,” he said.

Police say Gayathri has not explained what drove her to suicide. But the family’s poor financial condition might have forced her to take the extreme step. Balaji worked as a human resource manager in a private firm at Rajajinagar till about four months ago. His search for jobs later did not fructify.

The bodies have been kept at the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (Kims) where a post-mortem will be conducted on Monday.

Chennamanakere Achchukattu police have registered a case of murder and unnatural death and are investigating the matter.