Hyderabad: A 30-year-old private worker, A Sriram, has been arrested for the alleged murder of his two-year-old daughter at Hanmapuram village in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on Wednesday. The accused, a deaf and speech impaired person, works at a water plant in Hanmapuram village. On Wednesday morning, Sriram’s father-in-law K Mallaiah, an auto driver from Anand Nagar Colony in Hayathnagar, went to his daughter Nagamani’s house in Hanmapuram to take her and grandchild Nithyasri to his home. “Sriram refused to let me take them to Hayathnagar. He picked up a quarrel. At about 8.30am, Sriram assaulted my daughter and forcibly took the child from me. He left the place with Nithyasri on a motorcycle,” Mallaiah said.Fearing for the child’s safety, Mallaiah followed Sriram along with Sriram’s elder brother, A Raju, on a bike. They searched for Sriram near their agricultural well, but could not find him. While the duo was at the farm, Sriram made a video call to Raju, and the latter left Mallaiah at the agricultural field and went to meet Sriram. “Half an hour later, when I called Raju, he told me that Nithyasri was in a critical condition and asked me to come to Bhuvanagiri area hospital,” Mallaiah told police.Mallaiah, along with his daughter, rushed to Bhuvanagiri area hospital and found out that Nithyasri was declared dead by doctors. Mallaiah alleged that Sriram took the baby to the outskirts of Hanmapuram village and smothered her as he did not want his wife and daughter to go to his in-law’s house, Bhuvanagiri Rural sub-inspector (SI) M Anil Kumar said.Sriram married Nagarani, 30, also a deaf and speech impaired person, three years ago. On May 5, 2024, Nagarani gave birth to Nithyasri. According to Mallaiah, Sriram and his family members began harassing Nagarani, stating they were not happy with the marriage within three months. “Even after my granddaughter was born, the harassment continued,” Mallaiah alleged.Based on the complaint, Bhuvanagiri police registered a case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Sriram. “Mallaiah alleged that Sriram deliberately killed his daughter, but Sriram claimed that he accidentally smothered her while trying to stop her from crying. We produced Sriram before a local court and sent him in judicial remand to Cherlapally prison on Thursday,” the SI said.
