Karnataka: Mother throws 6-year-old son into crocodile-infested river; child found with missing hand

In a shocking incident, a 6-year-old disabled boy died after his 26-year-old mother allegedly threw him into a crocodile-infested river at Dandeli taluk in Uttara Kannada of Karnataka following a quarrel with her husband. As per the police, the couple often fought with each other over the condition of their elder son, who was speech-disabled since birth.

The mother, identified as Savitri, and her husband, Ravi Kumar (27), both have been arrested by the police in connection with the incident. The police added that the couple also have another two-year-old son. 

According to the police, Savitri's husband used to quarrel over her elder son's disability frequently and questioned her as to why she gave birth to such a child. On certain occasions, he used to allegedly tell her to "throw the child away", as reported by news agency PTI.

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Speaking on the incident, police said that the mother threw her child into a waste canal that is directly connected to the crocodile-infested Kali River after the couple argued on Saturday night about the same matter.

Dandeli rural police inspector Krishna Barakeri told Hindustan Times, “Savitri allegedly threw her son into a waste canal linked to the crocodile-infested Kali river around 9 pm.”

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The neighbours had alerted the police about this, and they reached the spot along with divers and locals. As it was dark, the police could not find the child and the body was retrieved on Sunday morning. 

As per the PTI report, the police officer added that the child was found with severe injuries, bite marks across the body and a missing hand, indicating that he was the victim of a crocodile attack.

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"We have registered a case at Dandeli Rural Police station under section 109 (Abetment of any offence, if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested both husband and wife in connection with the incident," the officer said as quoted by PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)