Infant missing for a week found dead in Greater Noida; cops probe role of woman’s ex-husband

A nine-month-old boy, who had been missing from his house since March 3, was found dead Wednesday in a drain 50 metres away from his house in Sector Eta 1 in Greater

A nine-month-old boy, who had been missing from his house since March 3, was found dead Wednesday in a drain 50 metres away from his house in Sector Eta 1 in Greater Noida. The child’s parents have alleged the child was kidnapped and then murdered, police said.

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The child’s father, Santosh, works as a driver and mother, Raj Kumari, works as domestic help. The child lived with his parents and two older sisters Vartika,10, and Shivani, 3, in a rented house.

Santosh said on March 3, he had gone to the local market around 6pm to buy vegetables, while his wife was at her workplace. The infant and two daughters were sleeping at home.

“My wife returned home but found the boy missing. She informed me after which I rushed home. We launched a search but could not find our child. We then informed the police about the matter,” he said.

The family said they searched CCTV camera footage from neighbouring areas and found two suspicious-looking persons, who were covered in shawls, passing through their neighbourhood. “It appears they had kidnapped my child and fled,” Santosh said.

Deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, Harish Chander, said based on Santosh’s complaint, a case was registered against unknown persons under Section 363 (abduction) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The police team had launched a search for the child but could not find him. On Wednesday evening, we received information that the child was found dead in a nearby drain,” he said.

Chander said the police teams are investigating the matter from all angles.

“We had scanned the CCTV camera footage, but it did not point to the allegations levelled by the family about two men kidnapping their child. We have come to know that the woman had separated from her first husband two years ago. Her first husband is the biological father of the two daughters, and Santosh is the father of the nine-month-old boy. We are investigating the role of her first husband in the case,” he said.