'Unhealthy' Baby Likely Strangulated To Death By Uncle, Grandfather

In a horrific incident, a 29-day-old baby boy was allegedly murdered by his uncle and grandfather Friday. The incident took place in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

According to local reports, the baby, who had health issues, was found dead under a cot at his home. The family said that the baby had been in the hospital and was recently brought home.

Local media the Times of India reported that the father of the baby suspected the uncle and the grandfather of being involved in the crime. Following a complaint, police questioned the child's uncle and grandfather. However, no charges have been filed in the case so far.

The police also questioned the child's parents, identified as C Karthik and Stella. According to reports, Stella gave birth to twins on Nov. 21. While one of the babies was healthy, the younger twin was not keeping well.

Last week, the parents brought home the younger twin. On Friday, the mother suddenly realized that her younger son was missing. After police arrived at their house, they found the child lying unconscious under the cot.

The child was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.

Karthik told police that his younger brother C Arvind and his father Chitta Raj might have strangulated the boy. An autopsy revealed that the child died due to suffocation.

Police are yet to confirm if the uncle and the grandfather had killed the child. A motive behind the killing also remains unclear.

Other family members however dismissed the claims that the uncle and the grandfather were involved in the killing.

“Karthik has been mostly jobless ever since he quit school. His first wife eloped with another man due to his laziness. Later, he fell in love with Stella and married her. His family did not oppose it. Raj would tell Karthik to do some work. This resulted in frequent arguments in the family. Karthik is only seeking revenge by making false allegations,” a cousin of Karthik told the Times of India.

In a similar incident that took place in June in the city of Hyderabad, also in India, two children with mental disabilities were killed allegedly by their maternal uncle. The 12-year-old siblings, twins, were killed as the uncle was unable to see his sister deal with the "trauma" of having the two unhealthy children.

The police, after an initial investigation, revealed that the twins had been strangled to death.