Mother Strangles 3-Year-Old Child To Death For Crying Constantly, Then Attempts Suicide

A mother strangled her 3-year-old daughter to death because she was annoyed by her constant crying. She then tried to die by suicide.

Pooja Rani, of Gurugram, a satellite city of India's capital New Delhi, reportedly lost her temper after her daughter cried continuously despite all attempts to calm her down. She strangled the child to death and then tried to end her own life by slitting her wrist. The incident took place Sunday.

Rani was charged with murder Monday after her husband, identified as Pradeep Singh, filed a complaint against her.

"Initial investigation has revealed that the woman was short-tempered and often got angry over trivial things. The child, Kanishka, was crying continuously and did not stop despite her mother's best efforts to calm her down. In a fit of rage, Pooja allegedly strangled the child to death," Preet Pal Sangwan, a senior police officer, told the Hindustan Times.

During questioning, Rani told police that she had no intention to kill her daughter and was only trying to scold the child by grabbing her neck. When she realized her child was not breathing, she felt guilty and decided to end her own life.

Police said Rani's husband, who worked in an automobile company, was not at work when the incident took place.

"Singh left for work around 1.45 p.m. Sunday, leaving Pooja and Kanishka at home. Around midnight, he returned home to find the house locked from inside. When his repeated knocks went unanswered, he banged on the door multiple times till it finally broke open," Sangwan said.

"He went inside and found his wife lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was bleeding from her wrist wounds, but was breathing. Singh then saw his daughter on the bed, lifeless," Sangwan said, quoting Singh's statement to the police.

Singh told investigators that he was in a state of panic and rushed both his wife and daughter to a nearby hospital. Doctors at the hospital declared his daughter dead and began treatment for his wife's injuries.

A doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the woman had a sharp cut with a kitchen knife to her wrist. "The cut was not deep enough to be fatal. She is stable and fit now," the doctor said.

Singh also told police that his wife had anger issues.

"He claimed that there was no marital discord and that his wife was prone to bouts of anger. The exact reason will be known after an investigation," a senior police officer said, the Indian Express reported.

Rani was arrested after her discharge from the hospital.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.