Tamil Nadu: Man arrested for burning his 5-year-old son alive

The man’s wife reported that he set alight their son on February 27 when he was drunk, said police. The couple, who have another son as well, had a fight when in a fit of rage, he set the boy afire

The Tamil Nadu police have arrested a 30-year-old unemployed man in Tiruvarur district for allegedly burning alive his five-year-old son. The boy died of 95% burn injuries at a hospital on Tuesday, said inspector T Natarajan.

Representational Image.

The man’s wife reported that he set alight their son on February 27 when he was drunk, said Natarajan. “He [the man] is unemployed and it is his wife who supports the family by working as a coolie.” The couple, who have another son as well, had a fight when in a fit of rage, he set the boy afire.

Natarajan denied media reports that superstition had prompted the man to kill his son. “Local media have said so but our investigation did not find that. He was inebriated and committed the crime in a fit of rage.”

Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam M K Stalin took to social media seeking immediate action. He said it was “shocking and painful” that a father burnt his son to death “as an astrologer told him he might be endangered by his son in the future”. Such “human sacrifices” should no longer be tolerated, he added.