Mumbai, March 27 A 10-year-old girl died, allegedly after her father hung her upside down at their house and kept her in that position throughout the night, suspecting she had stolen money from a relative's house in Sangli district, Maharashtra, police said on Friday.
The girl's father, Dadu alias Nana Yamgar, a farmer, who has now been apprehended, also subjected the deceased girl's older sister, aged 11, to a similar treatment, and she is currently receiving treatment at a hospital, they said.
The incident came to light on Thursday when doctors informed the police in Atpadi taluka of Sangli about Rutuja's death.
"Yamgar tied his two daughters, Rutuja and Anuja, upside down by tying their hands and legs to an iron angle installed on a wall of their house below the ceiling. He was angry because he suspected that both the girls had stolen money from a relative's house in Banpuri, Atpadi," a police official said.
Other family members, including Yamgar's father, tried to intervene and rescue the girls, but he threatened to attack them with a sickle. Both the girls remained in the upside down position throughout the night. Even Rutuja's pleas for water failed to move him, the police said.
In the morning, both the girls were found unconscious, and were subsequently taken to a hospital. The minor sisters were then rushed to a government-run hospital, but Rutuja's condition worsened, they said.
She died while being taken to a hospital in Pandharpur (in Solapur district), the police added.
Her sister Anuja is currently receiving treatment at a hospital, they said.
After the hospital authorities informed the police about the incident, Yamgar was taken into custody.
Police claim that he is mentally unstable.
A case has been registered against Yamgar under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and further investigation is underway, according to the police.