Mumbai woman strangles and buries her 14-month-old baby with help of lover, friend

The 20-year-old woman sneaked the baby out of her estranged husband’s house in Bhiwandi.

A woman, her boyfriend and his friend were arrested on Thursday morning for allegedly strangulating her 14-month baby, Aryan Kumar Yadav, and burying him in Bhiwandi, around 36km from Mumbai.

The 14-month-old deceased. (HT Photo)

The accused, all residents of Bhiwandi, have been identified as Mamta Yadav, 20, the toddler’s mother, her partner Rakesh Patel, 30, and his friend Ajit Paswan, 19.

The incident came to light on Wednesday after Aryan’s father Birendra Kumar Yadav, 25, a labourer, approached the police.

The victim’s father Birendrakumar Yadav with his 14-month-old son’s dead body.

Manoj Patil, deputy commissioner of police, zone 2, said: “Mamta and Birendra Kumar got married three years ago. After Aryan’s birth, Mamta would be home most of the time, and she got close to Rakesh, who was her neighbour.”

Two weeks ago, the couple returned to Bhiwandi and started living in the same locality, which Birendra was aware of. The police said Mamta and Rakesh decided that the baby could create problems for them in the future and planned to kill him.

On Wednesday afternoon, when Birendra stepped out for a few minutes, leaving his son alone at home, Mamta sneaked in and ran away with the child. Birendra returned home to realise that his son was missing and searched the neighbourhood. When he could not find the boy, he finally approached his estranged wife, who denied that she had anything to do with the child’s disappearance.

After their spat, Birendra approached the Narpoli police and explained the situation. The police detained Mamta, Rakesh and, Ajit, who was with the couple, and during interrogations, they confessed to having killed the toddler, Patil said, adding that the body was recovered after the accused told the police where they had buried it.

The trio will be produced in court on Friday.