Tamil Nadu: 5-year-old boy escapes murder attempt by mother

CHENNAI:  Police have arrested a 26-year-old woman allegedly after her 5-year-old son ran away from his house and later told police that he did not want to go back home since his mother was trying to kill him.

The child had run away from the house on Saturday night and survived outside for almost two days until passersby spotted him in a deserted area near Sriperumbudur on Monday evening.

They handed over the child to Sriperumbudur All Women Police station. A police officer privy to the case said, "When we enquired, the child cried and said he does not want to go to his mother. He said his mother tried to strangle him when he was sleeping. He managed to escape and ran away from the house."

Police said they interrogated the child's mother on Monday night and that she had confessed to the crime. Quoting her statement, police said the woman had two children from a previous relationship and was presently living with another man. One of the children, aged two years, had died in a fire accident in their thatched hut in September.

Police said the woman was recently into a relationship with another man and considered her 5-year-old son as a disturbance to that. So she wanted to eliminate him. "We are inquiring about the circumstances of the death of the other child also," said the police officer. 

On Tuesday, the woman was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Further investigations are on.