Dowry led to techie father killing his daughter?

Chennai: Niranjan Kumar, a software engineer, reportedly threw his four-day-old baby into a 30-feet deep well in Chennai late on Thursday killing the infant.

Reports suggest he was angry over not being able to spend quality time with his wife after the birth of the child but his wife's family alleged that the tragic incident is dowry related.

Kumar's wife Sangeetha and her family are in in shock after the death of the baby girl.

"She was feeding the baby until 11:30 (2330 hrs IST) at night. After that Niranjan gave her some mother horlicks in which he'd mixed sleeping pills. She felt it tasted funny but she drank it anyway. At around 3 (0300 hrs IST) when she woke up, she couldn't find her baby," Sangeetha's father PT Balasubramanian said.

The family says Niranjan wanted Sangeetha to find a job and when she conceived, he refused to take the responsibility of the child. They also allege that he and his parents were harassing them for dowry.

"I told my colleague to check my mail. He told me that Niranjan has sent a mail on March 3 and he has demanded Rs 60 lakh," Sangeetha's brother BM Rajasekar claimed.

"When we invited him home for Diwali, he sent us a mail back saying I can satisfy you only if you give me Rs 5 lakh," said Balasubramanian.

Investigating officers say Niranjan has been under medication for depression for the last six months. He has been arrested on charge of murder and is now under psychiatric observation.