Mother Allegedly Pushes Blind 14-Year-Old Son Into Canal Over Behavioral Issues

A woman in India allegedly pushed her 14-year-old blind son into a canal because of his behavioral issues. The boy’s body has not been traced by the authorities yet.

The incident took place Saturday in the state of Telangana. The 36-year-old mother, identified as N. Sailaja, was taken into custody and charged with attempt to murder.

Sailaja reportedly has three sons, the oldest of whom was 16 and the youngest in grade 4. The police said the woman was growing concerned about the mental health issues of her middle child, the 14-year-old victim, media outlet Times Now reported. The victim was born blind and started developing behavioral issues after the lockdown in the state, the police said.

The police said the boy, identified only as Gopi, was struggling to sleep at night, and would start shouting and randomly walking out of the house. The recently developed behavioral issues concerned the mother, who was taking care of her three sons all by herself. Sailaja, whose husband took his life about eight years ago, worked as domestic help to bring up her children.

Upset with her son’s mental health issues, Sailaja allegedly pushed him into the canal Saturday afternoon, despite witnesses being present in the area.

Sailaja had boarded a bus with her son before arriving at the canal and walking some distance. A farmer in the area witnessed the mother pushing her son into the canal and raised an alarm.

“She walked on the canal bund for some distance and pushed Gopi into the water. A farmer saw her pushing the boy into the canal and asked two youngsters, who were playing nearby, to rescue him. However, the current took the boy away from them and he went missing,” a police officer said, as quoted by The Times of India.

“Teams have been deputed for the search and an attempt to murder has been registered against the woman,” a police officer said, according to news outlet The New Indian Express.

The outlet also reported the 14-year-old boy died in the incident while other publications said he remains missing.