Angry with wife, drunk man drowns his children in well
A man in Faridabad allegedly jumped into a well with his four-year-old son and five-year-old daughter, who drowned, while he was rescued by locals. The man, Bhagat Singh, was reportedly angered with his second wife, who was in conflict with the children. Singh was allegedly inebriated at the time of the incident. He has been arrested and charged with murder. The police have questioned the wife but have taken no action against her.
Angry with his second wife, a 37-year-old man, who was allegedly in an inebriated state, jumped into a well with his four-year-old son and five-year-old daughter in Faridabad on Thursday. While both children drowned, the man was rescued by locals, police said, adding that the man resorted to the murders allegedly because his wife did not get along with the children.
Police identified the man as Bhagat Singh, a resident of Palwal, who lived in a rented accommodation in Shyam Colony in Sector 58 with his second wife, son, and daughter from his first marriage.
Police said Singh jumped into a 15 foot deep well along with both his children around 1pm.
Narender Kadiyan, deputy commissioner of police, Faridabad, said the well was not used by locals. “The well is located on a field in Sector 58, near Shagun Garden in the New Industrial Township, and it was not in a good condition. Locals spotted him jumping and raised the alarm, but the man kept his children submerged with his feet for over 20 minutes before anyone could come to their rescue,” he said.
Dhirender Singh, a real estate broker, who was near the field with one of his clients, said he saw some people gathered near the well and shouting for help. “I went to the spot and saw a man standing in the well. He was not responding to anyone. Some women had seen him jumping with his two children, but no one was ready to enter the well fearing the noxious fumes in its depth. The children were not visible above water; only the man was standing,” he said.
Dhirender said it took almost 20 minutes to get a ladder and some ropes from a nearby area. “I went into the well and tried to search for the children. The water was stinking and I started feeling uneasy. After diving several times, I found one child below the man’s feet. I pulled him out, tied a rope to the child and asked locals to pull him up,” he said.
Meanwhile, another person, identified as Nasim Khan, also entered the well and removed the second child, said police.
Kadiyan said the locals with great difficulty pulled the suspect up and took all three to a government hospital where doctors declared the children dead on arrival. “As soon as we received information, a team from Sector 58 police station was sent to the spot but they could do nothing as police were informed half an hour after the incident,” he said.
Police said Bhagat Singh was arrested from the spot and was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody on Friday after questioning.
Bhagat Singh during questioning revealed that he lost his wife two years ago and remarried. “His second wife was unhappy with the children and was allegedly forcing him to give them up for adoption, They used to fight every day and on Thursday, another fight broke out between the couple. He then took the children and jumped into the well,” said Sube Singh, Faridabad police spokesperson.
A case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 58 police station on Thursday. Police have questioned the wife but have taken no action against her.
