Sony Behera (26) dumped her three-year-old girl, Barsha, in a pond on Saturday night, Kuakhia Police station Inspector-in-Charge Ashis Kumar Sahu said, adding that the woman has confessed to her crime.
Behera's husband beats drums on festive occasions for a living. He was not at home when the incident happened, Sahu said.
The couple had two children - a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
"Behera's son was sleeping with her grandmother in a separate room when she sneaked out of home with Barsha before flinging her into a pond," said Sahu.
Her family members and locals then recovered the child's body from the pond and Behera's mother-in-law filed a complaint with the local police.
"Behera has been arrested under section 302 of IPC yesterday. She confessed to the crime and disclosed that she was upset about an argument that she had with her husband the day before," Sahu added.