Bombay High Court Rejects Bail for Grandfather in Chilling Newborn Drowning Case

The Bombay High Court has delivered a scathing indictment of prevailing patriarchal mindsets in contemporary Indian society, observing that it is deeply tragic and unfortunate that even after nearly 80 years of independence, families continue to harbor an obsessive preference for male children over daughters. Presiding over the matter at the High Court's Nagpur bench, Justice M.M. Nerlikar made these pointed remarks while rejecting the bail petition filed by Gopinath Janku Pradhan, a resident of eastern Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. The petitioner stands accused of the premeditated murder of his one-month-old infant granddaughter, a crime allegedly driven by the family's refusal to accept the birth of a second consecutive female child.

Fabricated Animal Attack Narrative and Rushed Burial Exposed by Local Whistleblower

The gruesome sequence of events dates back to 2023 when Gadchiroli police initiated criminal proceedings against Pradhan under charges of murder and deliberate destruction of evidence. Seeking release, the accused claimed innocence and argued that the deceased infant's mother had already secured bail in the matter. However, judicial scrutiny of the case diary revealed a sinister cover-up orchestrated by the household immediately following the crime. The High Court observed that the family members raised a deceptive public alarm, manufacturing a false narrative suggesting that an animal had dragged the infant away. In an apparent attempt to erase forensic traces, the family conducted a hasty burial of the infant before neighbors could scrutinize the situation.

Exhumation and Autopsy Confirm Asphyxia by Drowning as Court Bars Judicial Relief

The clandestine attempt to cover up the infant's demise unraveled when a vigilant local villager grew suspicious of the contradictory claims and alerted the local police station. Law enforcement authorities subsequently obtained administrative clearances to exhume the infant's body from the burial ground for a detailed forensic post-mortem examination. The medical autopsy decisively concluded that the one-month-old child perished from asphyxiation caused directly by submersion and drowning in a household water tub. Assessing the gravity and calculated brutality of the crime, the High Court emphasized that given the chilling conduct of the accused and the reprehensible motivation behind terminating an infant's life simply because of her gender, no legal grounds exist to grant judicial leniency or bail relief.