Ghaziabad: Stepmother, neighbour get life term for killing 11-yr-old boy

On October 16, when the boy could not be found his father filed a police complaint at Modinagar police station, and a probe was launched

Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a 32-year-old woman who, along with her female neighbour, was found guilty of murdering her 11-year-old stepson at her house in Modinagar in October 2023. Police had discovered the body dumped in a septic tank with stones tied to it.

The woman during police questioning revealed that her stepson pulled her hair when she scolded him, and also inflicted an injury on her nose. This made her agitated, and she, along with her neighbour friend, strangled the boy. (Representational image)

The court headed by additional sessions judge Vinod Kumar awarded life imprisonment to the boy’s stepmother, Rekha Sain, and also to her neighbourhood friend Poonam Verma. Both were found guilty under IPC section 302/34 (murder with common intention) and also under section 201/34 (destruction of evidence with common intention).

The incident took place on October 15, 2023, at Rekha’s house in Govindpuri locality as the boy went missing around 5pm. When his father, Rahul Sain, returned home at night, she told him that the boy had gone out to have fast food.

On October 16, when the boy could not be found his father filed a police complaint at Modinagar police station, and a probe was launched. The body was recovered on the same evening from a septic tank with stones tied to the boy’s waist and legs, and the tank covered with a wooden plank.

“When police checked CCTVs in the area, they found that the boy entered his house and did not come out. His stepmother, Rekha, and her friend Poonam were the only ones present in the house,” said Mamta Gautam, additional district government counsel (ADGC).

During police questioning, the stepmother broke down. “She said her stepson pulled her hair when she scolded him, and also inflicted an injury on her nose. This led to Rekha becoming agitated, and she, along with Poonam, strangled the boy and hid his body behind a sofa,” the ADGC added.

The investigation found Sain (Rekha) had overpowered the boy on the floor and sat on his chest while her friend Verma (Poonam) held his legs. Sain then tied a dupatta to his neck and held it tightly till the boy died.

“…During late evening, Rekha took out the body and used the same dupatta to tie stones to the boy’s waist and legs before dumping the body in the septic tank in the house,” the ADGC said, adding that during police questioning Rekha revealed that being a stepmother she had no liking for the boy (born from her husband’s first marriage). She often scolded him, and this led the boy to retaliate. “On the day of the incident, the boy’s behaviour triggered Rekha severely, and she decided to get rid of him.”

On October 17, 2023, both Sain and her neighbourhood friend Verma were arrested over the boy’s murder.

Investigation revealed that the boy’s father is a divorcee with two children. The boy had stayed with him while his minor daughter went away with his first wife. He later married Sain (a divorcee, having a minor daughter from her first marriage) on December 18, 2020.

“…When the circumstances are viewed in continuity, they provide a sequence that indicates that both Rekha and Poonam, on October 15, 2023, when no one else was in the house, killed the boy and hid his body behind a sofa. Later, Rekha alone dumped his body after tying it with stones in a septic tank,” the court said in its order on November 9.

Rekha was in judicial custody since her arrest, while Poonam was earlier able to obtain bail. After the court’s order Poonam has been also sent into judicial custody.