Chennai: Man surrenders after killing' his child but toddler survives strangulation

Chennai: A 35-year-old auto-driver turned himself in at the Abhiramapuram police station on Tuesday night after having killed his toddler because he had a doubt whether the daughter was born through his wife's infidelity. The child that he believed he had strangled to death had only passed out and was alive.

The arrested, identified as Boopalan (35), resident of Ezhil Nagar, Okkiyam Thuraipakkam, married Subalakshmi (24) four years ago and the couple have a boy and girl, aged 3 and 1.

Boopalan threw Subalakshmi out of the house six months ago on suspecting her fidelity and kept claiming that the girl child was not his. After the intervention of elders, Subalakshmi came back to live with Boopalan on Tuesday evening. Boopalan who came home took his wife and daughter to Besant Nagar where they spent some time. A fresh quarrel broke out between them when they were sitting at a restaurant near Besant Nagar.

The couple decided to go home cutting short their joyride. While passing by Abhiramapuram Second Street, Boopalan pulled the auto over and started beating his wife. He blamed her again of having begotten the girl child through her infidelity. He grabbed the child and attempted to strangle it to death even as Subalakshmi raised an alarm.

Passersby came to the rescue. Initially Boopalan resisted, but loosened his grip from the child's neck. He gave in only after the child's head dropped as if it were dead.

He abandoned the child and ran away fearing mob justice. He ran straight to Abhirama-puram Police where he confessed to have killed his daughter blaming his wife's infidelity.

The cops took him to the spot where the baby was found alive and was rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital where it is being treated. The condition of the child is stable. Meanwhile, Boopalan was arrested on charges of attempt to murder and was being remanded to judicial custody.