Delhi: Aunt drowns 2-year-old boy in water tank in Bawana, arrested

Basanti Devi killed her sister Reena Das’s son due to a monetary dispute with the child’s father and jealousy stemming from her inability to bear a male child

A two-and-a-half-year-old boy was drowned in the overhead water tank of his house allegedly by his 32-year-old aunt in Ramesh Nagar near Bawana in outer Delhi on Wednesday evening, the Delhi Police said on Friday, adding that the woman was arrested.

The deceased child was identified by police as Ayush Das. Police said that the boy’s parents were out for work at the time of the incident. (Representational image)

The deceased child was identified by police as Ayush Das. Police said that the boy’s parents were out for work at the time of the incident.

According to the police, the suspect, Basanti Devi, killed her sister Reena Das’s son for two reasons ­— a monetary dispute with the deceased child’s father, Prakash Das, and jealousy stemming from her inability to bear a male child while her sister had three sons.

“The woman was jealous of the child’s parents because she had four daughters while they were parents to three sons and a daughter. She was enraged with the deceased child’s father and accused him of stealing ₹10,000 from her mother,” said a senior police officer aware of the case.

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Deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Ravi Kumar Singh said that on Wednesday at 5.46 pm, the Bawana police station received a call about the boy being “kidnapped”. A police team reached the spot in Ramesh Nagar and met the caller, Basanti.

“Basanti told the police she found the child crying outside the house. She said she picked him up and took him inside the house, adding that the boy’s sister, Mala, 7, later found him ‘missing and raised an alarm’. Accordingly, Basant informed the police about the boy going missing,” said the DCP.

However, police scanned the CCTV camera near the house and found that only Basanti had entered the house a few times in quick succession. They also found that the boy had a fractured leg so he could not move on his own. The house also has an entry to the overhead tank from the inside.

Police searched the house and found the child’s body floating in the tank. Basanti was confronted with the video footage after which she broke down and confessed to the crime, the officer added.