The 10-month-old baby found dead in a well in Satara district of western Maharashtra had been murdered by a man, who was stalking the infant’s mother, police officials said on Saturday.
The Satara police have arrested a 28-year-old man for murdering the infant and harassing his mother, who had reprimanded the accused for his act, according to superintendent of police Tejaswi Satpute.
Satpute said that the baby had gone missing on Tuesday from his house after which the family from Kalaj village in Phaltan tehsil in Satara, approached the police with a complaint at Lonand police station.
After the search, his body was recovered from a well nearby the residence. During the course of investigation, the baby’s mother informed the police about Abhijit Ramdas Lokhande, who was constantly harassing her.
The police then detained Lokhande, who during interrogation admitted to his crime. The police booked Lokhande for murder and abduction of the infant, along with stalking the woman.
Satpute said the infant was allegedly abducted from a room when other members of the family were working elsewhere in the house. The suspect sneaked into the room and took him away. Later, Lokhande threw him in a well, located a few metres away from their house on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}Satpute said the infant was allegedly abducted from a room when other members of the family were working elsewhere in the house. The suspect sneaked into the room and took him away. Later, Lokhande threw him in a well, located a few metres away from their house on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}“When we began the probe, we got to know about Lokhande while collecting information from the family. Initially, he did not answer our questions. However, Lokhande later admitted to his crime and explained the chain of events. He murdered the baby as he was hurt after the woman asked him to stay away from her,” said Satpute.
Police officials said Lokhande was trying for a job in the police department and had on two occasions applied during the recruitment drive. However, on both occasions he could not clear the physical test, said police officials.