Woman smothers five-year-old daughter to death, commits suicide

A 32-year-old widow allegedly smothered her five-year-old daughter to death before hanging herself at her Tilak Nagar residence on Friday, police said. A purported suicide note was found in which she accused her late husband's parents of harassment, following which the Tilak Nagar police initiated the process of registering a case against them.

Indira Balasubramaniam Yadav and her daughter Ponushakti stayed in building number 87 of Tilak Nagar Colony along with her in-laws. "Her in-laws work as newspaper vendors and left the house at around 5 AM. Both Indira and Ponushakti were at home. They returned in the afternoon and found the door bolted from inside.

After receiving no response despite knocking repeatedly, they opened the door using the keys kept with the neighbours and found the bodies," said an officer from Tilak Nagar police station. "We found a suicide note in which she blamed her in-laws of harassment," the officer said.