Navi Mumbai Mother Arrested for Strangling 6-Year-Old Daughter for Not Speaking Marathi

In a disturbing incident that has added a tragic layer to ongoing language sensitivities in Maharashtra, a 30-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai's Kalamboli area has been arrested for allegedly strangling her six-year-old daughter.

Police say the mother cited the child's struggle to speak Marathi properly—often communicating in Hindi instead—as a key trigger, though deeper issues, including dissatisfaction over having a daughter instead of a son and ongoing psychiatric treatment, appear to have contributed.

The woman, a science graduate married to an IT engineer since 2017, gave birth to the girl in 2019. According to authorities, the child had speech difficulties from a young age, which frequently frustrated her mother. She had reportedly expressed resentment to her husband, saying she did not want "such a child who doesn't speak properly."

The incident occurred on December 23 at their residence in Gurusankalp Housing Society, Sector-1, Kalamboli. That day, the child's grandmother visited but left without seeing her granddaughter. When the father returned home in the evening, he found the girl unresponsive and rushed her to a hospital, where the mother initially claimed the death was due to a sudden heart attack.

Suspicious of the circumstances, Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Kote ordered a detailed post-mortem examination. The report revealed clear signs of asphyxiation due to airway obstruction, prompting intensive questioning of the parents. After nearly six hours of interrogation, the woman confessed to strangling the child.

She has since been placed under arrest, and investigations are continuing, including into her mental health history, as she was receiving psychiatric care.

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