A murder case was registered against the father. (Representational Image)
A man had been arrested for allegedly killing his 13-year-old daughter as he was suspicious about her "character" and opposed to her "hobby of singing" in Nalgonda district of Telangana, the police said on Tuesday.
The mother of the deceased girl has also been arrested for allegedly causing evidence to disappear.
The incident occurred in Tiredu village under the Chintapally mandal of the district on September 15, when the accused, Chinna Narasimha, allegedly banged his daughter's head against the wall of their house, which led to her death.
He then allegedly doused the body of the girl in kerosene and set it on fire, a police official said.
According to Nampally Circle Inspector Bala Gangi Reddy, Chinna was against his daughter, a class 7 student, taking up singing as a career.
"The girl was an aspiring singer, but her father was opposed to it. Around two weeks ago, he had quarrelled with her over singing. He always kept a watch on her," the inspector said.
On the fateful day, the girl had returned home from school and as the door was locked, left her schoolbag outside and gone to her uncle's house.
In the meantime, Chinna and his wife Lingamma returned.
"After noticing that his daughter was not in the house but her bag was there, Narasimha started looking for her. He then spotted her talking to someone. He brought her back home and quizzed her about the person. When the girl replied to him in an arrogant manner, he caught her by the neck and banged her against the wall, which caused her death," Inspector Reddy said.
Chinna then doused the girl's body in kerosene and set it ablaze, he added.
"The neighbours alerted the police after they saw flames coming out of the house," the inspector said.
The Village Revenue Officer (VRO) lodged a police complaint, stating that the girl was found dead with burn injuries.
"The VRO suspected that it was not a case of suicide, though the girl's parents were insisting to perform her last rites without lodging a police complaint," Inspector Reddy said.
During investigation, the couple initially stuck to their stand that their daughter took her own life.
"However, they later admitted to have killed the girl," Inspector Reddy said.
According to the inspector, Chinna had become suspicious of his daughter's character.
"He had a doubt that she spoke to someone frequently," he said.
A murder case was registered against Chinna. His wife was also booked for removing evidence. The couple was arrested last evening, the inspector said.