Newborn Baby Dies After Debt-Ridden Mother Feeds Her Milk Laced With Poison

A newborn baby died after her mother allegedly fed her milk laced with poison, according to reports Thursday. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

According to the Times of India, the poverty-stricken and debt-ridden mother already had two children. Her husband, a worker on a bus, had lost his job in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The child died Aug. 27, but the cause of death was revealed only Thursday after the autopsy results were out.

Police said the 29-year-old unidentified woman, who committed the crime allegedly because of poverty, was arrested and the court sent her to jail after she confessed to killing her newborn.

Local authorities had removed vital organs of the baby for an autopsy and had handed over the body of the child to the family. Other details about the incident remain unclear. The charges against the mother are yet to be revealed.

In a similar incident, a two-year-old girl died after her father allegedly gave her poison after suspecting her mother of infidelity. This incident also took place in Tamil Nadu. According to local media reports, the father believed his wife was cheating on her and that the toddler was not his biological child.

The unidentified man allegedly fed the baby an egg mixed with rat poison Oct. 1. The toddler was rushed to a hospital where she died five days later. Local media also reported the girl's aunt and uncle instigated the man to commit the crime.

The father, the uncle and aunt absconded following the incident.