Two-day-old child is stabbed 100 times with a screwdriver and her body dumped inside a temple amid spate of newborn girl murders in Indian city
- Police called early on Thursday to reports of baby wrapped in blanket in Bhopal
- It was initially believed that the newborn had been savaged by a wild animal
- But autopsy revealed she was stabbed more than 100 times with a screwdriver
- In the last two weeks, two other newborns were also murdered in the city
A two-day-old girl has been stabbed 100 times with a screwdriver and her body dumped at a temple amid a spate of newborn girl murders in an Indian city.
Police were called early on Thursday morning to reports that a baby wrapped in a blanket was lying next to the temple in Bhopal.
It was first thought that the girl had been savaged by an animal. But an autopsy revealed her wounds were inflicted by a screwdriver.
Ayodhya Nagar police station said that it was scouring CCTV images of the area to track the perpetrator.
A stock image of the city of Bhopal in India
Officers believe the baby was born at home before the shocking murder.
In the last two weeks another two girls have been killed in the city. The newborns were murdered by their mothers.
Female infanticide in India is believed to be an under-reported phenomenon.
However, the male-female birth ratio – that is the ratio of boys to girls at younger age groups – is used to support this claim.
The natural ratio is usually said to be 106, with a range of between 103 and 107. Any number higher than 107 suggests that infanticide or abortions have skewed the proportion of males in a population.
In India, the ratio for babies is estimated to be at 1.11.
By comparison, in the United Kingdom and the United States the figure is 1.05, according to data from the CIA.