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After caesarean operation, she delivered a girl for the third time. An hour after the delivery, Mallaiah came to the hospital, snatched the infant from his mother-in-law's lap and dashed it to the ground, killing it instantaneously.
The hospital staff and others caught him and beat him. He managed to escape and is still at large.
Such murders are common in the tribal hamlets of backward Telangana region, where female literacy is almost nil. Even if a girl child is spared, she might be sold through brokers as in Nalgonda district, adjacent to state capital Hyderabad.
V Sandhya, President of Progressive Organization of Women observes “most of these killings go unreported in tribal areas; rampant alcoholism and unemployment makes upbringing of children difficult, particularly girls as huge dowry has to be paid at the time of their marriage.”
She points out that the down trend began in early 2001, when there was massive migration of farm labour from villages to neighbouring urban centres. Andhra Pradesh is one such example where farming has been neglected and service sector has been given utmost priority.
World Bank a culprit
“The decadal down trend in child sex ratio in AP, a progressive state, is only one of the symptoms of the rot that has set in with the World Bank sponsored policies that hit the poor very hard,” said Dr S Indrakant, Professor of Economics, Osmania University.
Vishy, a former programme officer with the Regional office of Action Aid, said the PC and PNDT Act is quite effective if there is a will.