A 27-year-old woman strangled her three young daughters before attempting suicide in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar on Monday.
The woman hanged herself from a tree using a dupatta, but was brought down and rushed to a hospital where she is battling for her life.
Radha Devi’s husband told police that she was undergoing treatment for anxiety and depression.
Taunts over no son
Some of her neighbours have told police that she was being frequently taunted by her family for not giving birth to a son, thus driving her into a depression.
Her husband Raju Singh and some other family members have been detained for questioning.
Police said the allegation of taunts over daughters has not yet been confirmed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Mandeep Singh Randhawa said Radha had called her husband on his mobile phone to inform of her intentions moments before the alleged murders and attempted suicide.
She then headed to a forested area behind the Batra Hospital near her home where she allegedly strangled her daughters. Even as police were informed, Raju and some neighbours launched a search for the mother and daughters.
Police too reached the spot and soon the body of the oldest daughter, aged eight, was found at the entrance of the forest.
On venturing further, police recovered the bodies of the two other daughters, one aged three and another eight months only. The woman was found hanging from a tree by a passer-by. He brought her down and found her still breathing.
“She was rushed to ESI Hospital in Okhla from where she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. She is in a critical condition,” an officer told Deccan Herald.
Her daughters, meanwhile, were declared brought dead.
Prima facie, it appears the three girls were strangled.
However, the exact cause of their death would be known only after receiving the autopsy reports, said police.
A case of murder has been registered with Ambedkar Nagar police station and investigations are continuing in the case, said police.
