Hyderabad: A 32-year-old housewife was sentenced to death by a local court in Suryapet on Friday for the murder of her seven-month-old daughter in 2021. She reportedly killed the child as part of a "human sacrifice" ritual to rid herself of her alleged sarpa dosham, an astrological affliction believed to bring misfortune. B. Bharathi, also known as Lasya, is currently in jail for attempting to murder her husband two years later with a weighing stone.

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This previous conviction played a significant role in the death sentence she received from the additional district sessions court in Suryapet.

"Based on all the evidence, the court concluded the case as ‘rarest of the rare' and awarded the death penalty to the accused," Kodad DSP Sridhar Reddy said.

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On April 15, 2021, Bharathi applied vermillion and turmeric on herself and her daughter while conducting a special puja in her bedroom at their home in Mekalapati Thanda, located in Mothey mandal of Suryapet district.

Woman slits throat of her daughter while doing ritual

In his statement to the Mothey police, Bharathi's husband, B. Krishna, who is also the complainant and a prosecution witness, said, "During the puja, my wife killed our daughter by slitting her throat. She also slit the baby's tongue."

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Krishna stated that his ailing father was the only other family member at home during the incident. "My father, who was bedridden, heard the baby crying and suspected something was wrong. Using a stick for support, he got up from the bed and saw Bharathi walking out of the house in blood-stained clothes. She told him that she had offered our baby as a sacrifice to the gods to rid herself of sarpa dosham," Krishna explained.

After Krishna's father alerted them, neighbours and relatives rushed to the house and took the baby to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead. The Mothey police later arrested the accused near her home. During the trial, 10 witnesses were examined, including the victim's uncles, who were the first to see the body, as well as forensic experts, according to Mothey SI Yadavendra Reddy.

Bharathi granted bail in 2021

Bharathi was granted bail after the chargesheet was filed in 2021 and subsequently began living with her husband.

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"In 2023, Bharathi attacked Krishna on the head with a one-kilo weighing stone when he was asleep. On his complaint, an attempt to murder case was lodged and she was again arrested. In that case, she was convicted by a local court in Suryapet on April 9 and awarded a year's jail," the SI said.
Bharathi and Krishna were classmates in school and later developed a romantic relationship.

"My right leg is affected due to polio. I wanted to marry Bharathi but due to my poor financial position, her family chose another man. Bharathi married him in 2008 but later divorced him due to personal problems. Later, I married her in 2019," Krishna said in his statement.

According to Krishna, Bharathi experienced mental health issues due to problems in their marriage. "A few years before our marriage, an astrologer told her that she was suffering from sarpa dosham. She became obsessed with rituals related to sarpa dosham and would watch videos about it on her smartphone," Krishna said.

The family had also consulted a psychiatrist in Khammam a few months before the murder, and the doctor prescribed medication for Bharathi. However, according to Krishna, she never took the prescribed medication. The accused is currently incarcerated at Chanchalguda Women's Central Prison in Hyderabad.

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