Delhi: Minor cousin apprehended for drowning infant in tank

According to police, the teenager lived in the same building with his family, adding that his aunt — the victim’s mother — used to frequently complain about him to his mother, due to which he was allegedly regularly scolded and beaten by his own mother.

Two days after the body of an eight-month-old boy was found in a water tank on the roof of a three-storey building in east Delhi’s Dallupura, police on Thursday said they have apprehended the victim’s 13-year-old cousin.

The hospital informed the New Ashok Nagar police station about the death, following which a police team arrived and spoke to the father. (Representative image)

According to police, the teenager lived in the same building with his family, adding that his aunt — the victim’s mother — used to frequently complain about him to his mother, due to which he was allegedly regularly scolded and beaten by his own mother.

The teenager was allegedly looking for opportunities to harm her children, said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named.

Even around a week before the murder, police said, the teenager allegedly lured the woman’s second son, a two-year-old, to a nearby canal and left him there alone, “thinking that the child would either drown while playing in the canal or be kidnapped”.

“The child’s family members frantically searched for him in the neighbourhood. When they couldn’t find him and decided to report him missing, the teenager panicked and asked them to search the areas near the canal. They searched those areas thoroughly and found the child. However, despite knowing that it was the teenager who had taken the child to the canal, the family hushed up the matter, because he was their relative,” the officer said on Thursday.

The victim lived with his parents and two siblings, aged four and two, in a rented room on the second floor of the building in Dallupura.

On Tuesday evening, the victim’s mother stepped out of the house after locking her three children inside. On her return, she found the infant missing, following which she informed her husband who was out for work.

A frantic search ensued after which the family found the child in the overhead tank.

The family rushed the infant to Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) hospital where he was declared dead on arrival .

The hospital informed the New Ashok Nagar police station about the death, following which a police team arrived and spoke to the father.

The body of the child was kept at the hospital’s mortuary for autopsy.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Priyanka Kashyap said that a case was registered under Indian Penal Code’s sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), following which police questioned the child’s family members, relatives and other people living in the building.

During their investigation, police learnt about the teenager’s earlier action of abandoning his cousin at the canal.

“The teenager was questioned, and he revealed that he dropped the infant in the water tank because he held a grudge against his aunt. Accordingly, the child in conflict with law (CCL) was apprehended, following all due procedures,” added DCP Kashyap.