Man kills 3-year-old stepson because he disliked child’s presence at home in Mumbai

A 27-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his three-year-old stepson owing to hatred.

The stepfather was identified as Nitin Pandurang Chavan from Sonapur in Mankhurd. Chavan punched and kicked Adarsh Kiran Salve on May 3 because the latter was not his biological son, said an officer of Mankhurd police station. He didn’t want Salve to live with him, said the officer.

Chavan attempted to pass off the case as an accident, but his lie was exposed after a post-mortem report revealed internal and external injuries.

“When Chavan was beating him up, the child’s mother tried to intervene and save him,” said Sanjay Vernekar, senior inspector of Mankhurd police station.

The police said Salve vomited every time he had food. He was taken to Sion hospital. A couple of days later, he died during treatment on May 5.

When the police were investigating about the boy’s death, Chavan said Salve had fallen from the ladder. “The injuries didn’t appear to have been caused due to fall,” said Vernekar. “The post-mortem report stated that the child had died of internal and external injuries. This raised our suspicion.” After his initial denials, Chavan later admitted to the murder.

“Chavan hated him. He married the boy’s mother recently in March,” said Vernekar. Chavan, who works as a real estate agent, was arrested on Sunday under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

Based on their preliminary investigation, the police have ruled out the involvement of the mother.