Toffee theft suspicion triggers father, kills 12-year-old daughter with stick

A mere suspicion of stealing a packet of toffees turned into a horrific tragedy in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, where a 12-year-old girl was allegedly beaten to death by her father.

The incident took place on Thursday in Ratanpur village of Narora. The victim, Pooja, had come under suspicion after a shopkeeper told her father, Pushpendra, that she had taken a packet of toffees without paying.

Enraged by the allegation, the accused reportedly addicted to alcohol, returned home in the evening and began thrashing his daughter with a wooden stick. According to the complaint filed by the girl’s mother, Aarti, she repeatedly tried to intervene but was pushed aside as the assault continued.

During the brutal beating, Pooja sustained severe injuries, including a critical head injury that left her unconscious. Instead of seeking help, the father allegedly kept her inside the house in a critical state and later fled, locking the mother in.

After raising an alarm, neighbours rushed to the spot and took the girl to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead. The post-mortem report revealed multiple injury marks around 10 to 12 on her body, including a fractured skull.

Police have registered a case and launched a search for the accused, who is currently absconding.

In a separate, but equally disturbing incident a few days back reported from Maharashtra’s Sangli, a father allegedly tortured his two minor daughters on suspicion of theft, resulting in the death of one and leaving the other critically injured. The accused, identified as Dadu Haibat Yamgar, reportedly tied 10-year-old Sanika and 11-year-old Anuja and hung them upside down inside their home. The girls were left through the night without water, crying in pain, until their grandfather intervened the next morning. By then, Sanika had died, while Anuja, who was rushed to hospital and later regained consciousness, recounted the ordeal to doctors, leading to the filing of a police complaint.

- Ends

with inputs from Mukul Sharma