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By Oloruntimilehin Ayomide
A father of five girls identified as Pannalal is reported to have sliced open the stomach of his pregnant wife to find out if she was expecting a boy.
According to The Times of India, it was gathered that the 43-year-old Indian man, Pannalal, cut open the belly of his wife Anita Devi on Saturday night at their home in the Baduan district of Uttar Pradesh.
Prior to the incident, It’s understood a priest had told the man his wife was having another girl, the sixth in a row for the parents.
According to NDTV, the woman, Devi was in her seventh month of pregnancy. The baby was unhurt, but Devi remains in critical condition in the hospital after losing a lot of blood.
However, according to local police, Pannalal had been urging his wife to have an abortion but she said she wanted to have the baby.
“My brother-in-law often used to beat my sister for giving birth to five daughters,” Anita’s brother-in-law told The Times of India.
“Our parents had intervened on several occasions.
“But no-one imagined he would take such a cruel step.”
“When I reached there, I saw blood everywhere,” he said.
“Anita’s stomach was split, and she told me that her husband did this.
“I took her to hospital with the support of the police … Fortunately doctors here are supportive.”
Pannalal has been arrested and charged with attempt to murder.
In parts of India, baby girls are regularly abandoned, dumped, and even murdered because they are seen as less valuable than boys.
