Ernakulam: A man was arrested from Alangad near Aluva here after he tried to kill his 14-year-old daughter for pursuing a relationship with a boy from another religion, police said.

After physically assaulting her with an iron rod, the man force-fed the girl weedicide. The girl, who is in critical condition, is under treatment at a private hospital in Kochi, Manorama News reported. 
The incident came to light after hospital authorities informed police about the cruelty. Police registered the case on Tuesday.

The incident happened on October 29 around 8 am. As per the FIR prepared by the Aluva West Police, the man had warned his daughter to back off from the relationship with her classmate. He had confiscated her phone. But she continued contacting her friend using another phone. This angered the man.

With the intention of killing the minor daughter, he beat her with an iron rod. Then he force-fed her weedicide, knowing fully well that it would cause death.

Hearing the commotion, the child's mother rushed to help her. She saw the man had pried open the child's mouth and was making her drink the weedicide. The teenager had gulped down half a mouthful of the poison and the rest was in her mouth when her mother saved her, the FIR said.