Nagpur: Drunk father dies of bat blows at home in MIDC area, minor daughter sent to children's home

A 45-year-old man died inside his house in the MIDC police station area of Nagpur on Monday night after being struck on the head with a cricket bat by his 17-year-old daughter. Police have taken the girl into custody and a murder case has been registered. Her identity is being withheld because she is a minor.

The man was a daily-wage labourer who, by the family's account, spent most of what he earned on drink and did not go to work regularly. Police said he drank every day and often abused and beat his wife and children. The household was kept going by his wife, who worked in other people's homes.

The girl told police that the beatings had gone on since her childhood and that for the past two years her father had been touching her inappropriately and looking at her with bad intent, which made her afraid to go near him. Police also said she had earlier told her mother about his behaviour. The case is based on the girl's statement, and the allegations against the man are still being examined as the investigation continues.

On Monday night the man came home heavily drunk. His wife was out at work and his son had gone out to play, leaving only the father and daughter in the house. Police put the time of his arrival at around 8.50 pm, though one account of the incident placed it at about 8 pm. He called the girl over, and when she refused he caught hold of her and tried to make her sit beside him. She resisted as he kept touching her. He slapped her repeatedly, and according to police also kicked and punched her, and the two began grappling.

The girl then picked up a cricket bat kept in the house and hit him, she told police, to protect herself. The first blow landed on his forehead and the second on the back of his head. He collapsed on the spot, bleeding, and died of the serious head injuries. One account says doctors at a hospital declared him dead, while another says he died at home before any treatment could reach him.

The girl panicked afterwards. She tried to wipe the blood off the floor with clothes and is said to have thought up a story that her father had fallen down while drunk. When her mother came home, the girl told her everything. Fearing that both of them would be jailed, neither said anything, and the body lay in the house for about three hours. Another version of events says the daughter told her mother and then called the police herself.

At 12.10 am the girl herself phoned the police. The control room logged the information on the 112 helpline. DCP Rushikesh Reddy and MIDC station in-charge Inspector Baburao Raut reached the spot with their team. Police prepared a panchnama and sent the body to AIIMS for post-mortem. A murder case was registered on the complaint of the man's wife, and further action against the girl is being taken under the juvenile justice law.

MIDC police questioned the girl, and on Tuesday she was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. The Board sent her to a children's home for girls in Amravati district. After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family. Police said the investigation is continuing.