Mentally Ill Woman, Who Skipped Medicine for Days, Kills Daughter with Dupatta; Slits Her Wrist Too in Mumbai Flat

A woman undergoing treatment for mental illness strangled her 11-year-old daughter to death using a dupatta and tried to kill herself by slitting her wrist with a knife at a rented accommodation in Mumbai’s Borivali area on Thursday night.

According to the police, the woman’s husband informed the Kasturba Police Station about the incident, and the officials rushed to the spot. The police officials found the woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood and the daughter lying near her mother with a dupatta around her neck.

According to the officials, the woman was undergoing treatment for mental illness at two hospitals in Andheri and Baroda for the last 10 years and skipped her medicines for three days.

Police said the daughter, 11-year-old Ruhaani Solanki, was declared dead on arrival at the Shatabdi hospital, but the woman, 46-year-old Rekha, was still alive and she began undergoing treatment.

The incident took place around 10:30 pm on Thursday, moments after the family had dinner and the mother locked herself with her daughter in a room and the father was sitting in the living room of their three-bedroom flat, police said.

The father, who owns a shop in the area, told police that he heard his daughter scream and shout that her mother was trying to hurt her. He said the screams stopped after a while and no one was opening the door.

Police said when they arrived, the door was locked from inside and they had to break open.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident and have started recording statements of the woman and her husband.

“We have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the woman. Further investigation is on,” said a senior officer from Kasturba Marg Police Station.

One of the residents of the apartment, seeking anonymity, said, “They looked like a regular family. In fact, at a recent event hosted by the housing society, the daughter performed and seemed like a cheerful girl. Last evening, she was walking her pet downstairs. Whatever has happened is shocking.”