Bengaluru, 6 June

A 39-year-old woman and her live-in partner have been booked for allegedly murdering her five-year-old daughter, police said on Saturday.

The child identified as Vennela was found dead on 25 March this year, they said.

A case was registered on 4 June based on a complaint filed at Kadugodi police station by the girl's father against his estranged wife Priyanka and her partner Mohan G under Sections 103 (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.

"Based on the complaint, we have secured Mohan. He has been taken into police custody for interrogation. Further investigation is underway," a senior police officer said.

According to the FIR, the complainant married Priyanka in 2007 and had two daughters with her. He alleged that marital discord developed over the years and that his wife began a relationship with her friend Mohan after reconnecting with him in 2025.

The complainant claimed that his wife later forced him to sign divorce papers and started living with Mohan.

While the couple's elder daughter stayed with him, their younger daughter, Vennela, lived with Priyanka, the FIR said.

In his complaint, the father alleged that Priyanka gave contradictory explanations about the circumstances leading to their younger daughter's death, raising suspicion.

He further alleged that Priyanka initially stated that the child had eaten biryani on the night of 24 March and was found dead the next morning.

However, later she claimed that the child had been left asleep in an air-conditioned car while she and Mohan celebrated her birthday at a cafe in Kolar before being taken home and found dead the next morning, the FIR stated.

The father stated that he became suspicious after obtaining the post-mortem report and shared it with his sister, a paediatric specialist based in England, which raised further suspicion on the cause of death, police said.

He alleged that the accused had intentionally killed the child and later attempted to destroy evidence.

The complainant further claimed that his daughter was being viewed as an obstacle to their relationship and private life.

The allegations are being probed, police said, adding that further investigation is underway to ascertain the sequence of events that led to the child's death.