Police in Mangaluru arrested a man on Thursday, three days after he allegedly killed his eight-month-old daughter Mounashree. According to police officials, during interrogation, Laxman who is a construction worker confessed to killing his infant because she was a girl.

He had already fathered two girls and wanted a boy and was disappointed that the third also was a girl. In order to kill his daughter, Laxman allegedly took leave citing illness and killed the baby, while his wife Roopa was out for work. He had strangled the baby and dumped her body in the river Netravati, police said.

It was earlier reported how the infant’s body was found on the banks of river Nethravathi in Bolar of Mangaluru city on Monday. 

According to police, Laxman and Roopa hail from Koppal district and moved to the city about two weeks ago. They were staying at a camp shed of a private construction company in Bolar along with relatives and were employed as construction labourers.

According to a complaint filed by the infant’s mother Roopa Terminal, on May 27, she left for work at around 8 am, leaving her infant with her husband Laxman who said that he was not keeping well and would not attend work.

At 1 pm the same day, she was informed by her relative Ambraish that her baby had gone missing from home. Accompanied by her relatives, Roopa rushed home and spoke to her husband, who told her that he had put the baby to sleep in a cradle at around 11.45 am, but upon his return, he found that the child was missing.

The couple, along with their relatives, had even searched for the baby till 5 pm. At that point, a relative informed them that the body of a baby had been found near Bolar ferry park on the banks of river Netravathi.

However, when taken to the hospital, the baby was declared dead on arrival by doctors.

Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)