Upset over her four-year-old daughter’s disability, a woman flung her down from the terrace of her apartment on Thursday and later admitted to the crime.
A non-practising dentist, Sushma Bharadwaj is taking medicines for depression. Having tossed her daughter from the fourth-floor terrace of Advaith Ashray Apartment in Srinivas Colony in Sudhamanagar, Sushma claimed she fell by accident and carried the four-year-old child, Dhruthi, to Nimhans for treatment.
Hailing from Hubballi, Sushma is living in the apartment’s second floor with her husband of 11 years Kiran Balakrishna, a software engineer. On Thursday afternoon, she took Dhruthi to the terrace telling her husband and mother-in-law that she was going to play with her. Kiran was working from home. At around 3.30 pm, she tossed her daughter off the terrace and screamed for help having climbed over the balcony grill. Dhruthi fell on the basketball court and sustained severe injuries. CCTV footage showed Sushma carrying her daughter to the terrace, observing the movement of people before lifting Dhruthi. She stopped short of throwing her the first time but did it on the second try. Sushma climbed over the grill and screamed for help. She was rescued by a woman and a man residing on the fourth floor. Initially, Sushma told the residents that Dhruthi fell by accident.
When they found the four-year-old still alive, Sushma carried her to the hospital. Dhruthi died while receiving treatment late Thursday evening.
Based on her husband’s complaint, Sampangiram Nagar police detained Sushma for questioning. During interrogation, she admitted to intentionally tossing her baby from the terrace.
She also claimed that she wanted to kill herself but got scared and screamed for help. Sushma was remanded in judicial custody.
It is reported that Sushma saw Dhruthi as an obstacle to her career. Dhruthi, who could not speak due to her disability, was undergoing treatment and attending a school for children with special needs, Kiran said.
A woman living in the apartment told reporters that she saw Sushma standing on the balcony. “We found Dhruthi in a pool of blood. We initially thought she accidentally fell from the balcony,” she said. A man living in a neighbouring building said Sushma carried the injured child to hospital with help from residents. “We didn’t know what happened later but on Friday morning, we heard that the girl had succumbed to injuries.”
Abandoned at station
A month ago, Sushma abandoned Dhruthi at the KSR railway station during a trip to Odisha and claimed the child went missing. Kiran took help from the police and NGOs to find Dhruthi at the Baiyyappanahalli railway station.