Kendrapara, July 9: A 57-year-old man attempted to kill his toddler granddaughter in an alleged case of gender discrimination.

The accused has been taken into custody by the police.

Narayan Mallick tried to slit the throat of the three-year-old girl with the help of a razor blade.

The infant suffered some wounds and was rushed to Kendrapara District Headquarters Hospital. Later, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, police said.

The incident occurred at Choudkulat village under Pattamundai police limits, said the police.

“It may have been a case of gender discrimination that prompted the offender to commit the gruesome offence. The accused longed for a male progeny. But his son bore him a female baby. That is why, he wanted to get rid of her,” said inspector in charge of Pattamundai police station Amitabh Mohapatra.

The accused grandfather has been booked under sections 307 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Kuni Mallick, 45, grandmother of the three-year-old victim, has been named a co-accused in the case on the basis of circumstantial evidence, police added.

A surgeon who attended to the wounded baby said: “The baby is out of danger because the wounds are not deep. Still, she needs constant and specialised medical attention.”

Stray cases of crime related to gender discrimination have come to light in the past years.

Three years ago, a woman had killed her two infant daughters by throwing them into a pond on the backyard of her house at Deypura village under Kendrapara police station jurisdiction.

The assailant is now in jail and facing trial. She had committed the crime because of her strong desire for a male progeny, police sources said.