Sibling Rivalry Turns Fatal; 10-Year-Old Hacks Younger Brother With Ax

A 10-year-old boy in India has been arrested for killing his younger brother with an ax, police said.

The incident happened in the northern Indian state of Maharashtra on Monday. The accused boy was arrested for allegedly murdering his 8-year-old brother during a fight that eventually turned fatal, police sources said Wednesday.

The police have not revealed the identities of the accused and the victim.

The parents of the children were natives of the neighboring state of Karnataka and had moved to the state to work as farm laborers. The minor siblings picked up a fight when their parents left for work in the nearby field Monday.

The accused boy was reportedly jealous of his younger sibling as he believed that his parents gave him more attention.

“The parents in general trusted the younger one more than the elder one. They would trust the younger one with household responsibilities like maintaining keys,” an investigating officer said, reported Hindustan Times.

A few days before the incident, there was a fire in their house. On the day of the murder, the 8-year-old boy reportedly threatened his sibling that he will tell his parents that the fire was started by the latter. This resulted in an argument and the duo eventually started to fight.

“The victim had allegedly picked up an ax and started running towards the field and when the older boy tried to snatch the weapon away, the rear end hit the victim,” an investigating officer said, reported News 18.

The victim then started crying and threatened that he will report it to the parents. The accused boy got angry at the victim and hit him again causing his brother to fall on the weapon.

When the accused minor tried to pull out the ax, it reportedly caused a cut on the victim’s throat. He then threw the weapon away and left the boy to die.

The incident came to light after the parents returned from work and saw the child lying in a pool of blood.

The police have charged the juvenile on counts of murder and destruction of evidence. He was produced in court Tuesday.