Mentally Unstable Man Allegedly Slits Throat Of 3-Year-Old Niece, Runs Away

Authorities in India's Andhra Pradesh state are on the hunt for a 20-year-old man, who is believed to be mentally unstable, after he allegedly slit his young niece's throat on Friday, causing her to die.

The alleged killer, Vinod, was said to have murdered his 3-year-old niece, identified as Bhavya Sree, while she was sleeping on the veranda of her house in the village of Penguva located in Vizianagaram, The Times of India first reported, citing local police. Following the incident, Vinod allegedly fled the scene of the crime.

According to police, Sree and her mother, Parvathi, were sleeping together at the time of the incident, with the latter waking up after hearing her daughter's cries and finding her gasping in a pool of blood.

Neighbors rushed the child to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Vinod was mentally unstable and used to often roam the village while threatening people with a knife, Elwinpeta police station superintendent Krishna Prasad said, citing the village locals.

"He is nowhere to be seen after the crime. As of now, he is our main suspect. We have launched a manhunt to nab him," Prasad was quoted as saying.

"It's difficult to establish the exact motive behind the murder 'till Vinod is nabbed. We will produce him before a medical team to ascertain his mental condition once he is caught," he added.

A similar incident happened four months ago in the state of Uttar Pradesh when a 23-year-old woman, who authorities claimed was mentally unstable, was accused of beheading her baby before she tried to kill herself.

The woman, identified as Jitendri, jumped off the roof of a building after she allegedly beheaded her 13-month-old baby on Feb. 25. Her sisters-in-law found the baby's headless body on the roof of the their home. Jitendri, meanwhile, was found locked inside an abandoned room with injury marks around her neck.

Jitendri was rushed to a hospital but she died on the way. The bodies of both the mother and the child were sent for autopsy.

Police recovered a sickle, a packet of some poisonous substance and a milk bottle from the site. Authorities did not disclose any potential motives for the killing.