Logo: save the girl childAhmedabad: “I killed my daughter because I wanted a son. Society expected one from me. I was under pressure,” said 35-year-old Vijay Solanki from Chelavat village in Kathlal taluka of Kheda. “I killed her because she was not a boy,” he told police during interrogation, revealing a chilling account of how deep-rooted gender bias drove him to throw his seven-year-old daughter, Bhumika, into the Narmada canal. Police say he planned the murder, choosing the elder daughter simply because he felt less attached to her.Kheda superintendent of police Rajesh Gadhia said, “Vijay admitted that he would have killed either of his daughters: Bhumika, 7, and Hetal, 3. He chose Bhumika because she was older and stayed with her maternal uncle.”Gadhia said that Vijay did not kill the younger one as she used to live with him. “Though his hatred for a girl child doubled after the birth of the second daughter, he decided to kill the elder one as she was not living with him and he did not have any feelings towards her,” said Gadhia.According to the FIR filed by his wife, Anjana Solanki, Vijay’s frustration grew after Hetal’s birth. “He blamed me for giving birth to daughter. He harassed me mentally and physically, and also threatened to kill one of the girls,” Anjana said.On July 10, Anjana, Vijay, and Bhumika left home on a motorcycle to visit Dipeshwari temple. “While returning around 8pm, Vijay stopped the motorcycle on Wadhavat bridge and asked Bhumika and me to get down. Then, without saying anything, he picked up Bhumika and threw her into the canal,” Anjana told police.“Vijay then told me: ‘Don’t scream. Sit on the motorcycle.’ When I refused, he forced me to get back on the vehicle, warning: ‘I have thrown Bhumika into the canal. Don’t tell anyone or I will divorce you’.”That night, he allegedly dropped Anjana at her relative’s house, instructing her to stay mum about what he did. The next day, Bhumika’s body was found by divers. “Vijay then made me file a false report, claiming my daughter had slipped into the canal while watching fish,” she told police.Anjana later revealed the truth after receiving support from her brothers, Ajay and Avinash. “I was afraid, so I lied earlier. But Vijay did kill our daughter. He always said only a son could carry forward the family name,” she told police.Antarsumba police have registered a case of murder and are collecting witness statements and forensic evidence in the case.
