Man Strangles 7-Year-Old Son To Death, Sleeps Beside Child's Body Overnight

A man in India strangled and killed his 7-year-old son and then slept beside the child's body overnight.

The incident took place in the northern city Kanpur on Friday, and the accused was identified as Alankar Srivastava. He lived with his wife, Sarika, son and two daughters.

The following morning, Srivastava woke his wife up to inform her he had killed their son. After learning about the crime, Sarika – a government school teacher – informed her relatives, who came to their house. Police later arrived at the scene and the body of the child was sent for autopsy.

“Sarika said Alankar killed their son late on Friday night and went to sleep with the body in the drawing-room. At around 5 am, her husband visited their bedroom and after waking her up apprised her that he had killed their son and said that now no one would trouble their son, he is now taking restful sleep,” the Times of India quoted a police officer as saying.

“The boy’s body was thereafter shifted to mortuary. An FIR has been lodged by boy’s mother against his father. The family members are still in a shock and we are yet to record their statement."

Sarika told the police the accused was depressed after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. He loved his son and daughters, and was always worried about their future, she added, the media outlet reported.

Based on the complaint, the police took the accused into custody for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. During questioning, he confessed to having killed the child. Investigation into the case was underway.

Last month, the police arrested parents of a newborn in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh after they allegedly strangled their child to death in a hospital. The accused were identified as Anju Rawat and Shailendra Rawat.

"Anju gave birth to a girl four days ago in Morena district hospital. The baby was admitted to a Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital. On Wednesday afternoon, Anju took the baby out of the SNCU ward to feed her. But when she did not return after an hour, the staff nurse called the father of the baby. Shailendra said they would not return as the baby has died," the Hindustan Times quoted a police officer as saying at the time.