Chennai: A 38-year-old man murdered his seven-year-old daughter in a hotel room in Alandur early Tuesday morning and then attempted to end his life.Sathish of Ayanavaram checked into a hotel on MKN Road in Alandur around 11.30pm on Monday, accompanied by his daughter, Steffi Rose, a Class II student. Sathish, who deals in used electronic goods, was living separately from his wife, Rebecca, for the past year due to some domestic conflict, police said.The couple was married for eight years. Rebecca recently lodged a complaint at the Otteri police station, saying that Sathish subjected her to physical abuse and verbal harassment. She also sought custody of their daughter. Following the complaint, police conducted an inquiry and issued a warning to Sathish.On Monday night, after another argument, Sathish took his daughter and checked into the hotel. Around 5am on Tuesday, he called his sister and informed her that he had killed Steffi and planned to take his own life, police said. He then disconnected the call.Sathish’s sister went to the hotel and informed the staff around 6.30am. Employees, who were unable to contact Sathish in room 213, entered using a spare key, only to find the child lying in a pool of blood with her throat slit, and Sathish beside her with self-inflicted injuries.Hotel staff alerted the St Thomas Mount police, who arrived at the scene and arranged for an ambulance. Sathish was taken to Royapettah Govt Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. The child’s body was sent to the Chromepet Govt Hospital for postmortem.“Preliminary inquiries suggest that Sathish acted out of frustration following prolonged family disputes,” said an investigation officer. The St Thomas Mount police registered a case and are continuing their inquiry.
