HYDERABAD: The body of a two-month-old baby boy was found in a water tank on the terrace of his grandparents’ residence, hours after he went missing early on of Friday. The heartrending incident took place in Anjapur village on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The boy Uma Maheshwar, was the only child of Latha and Tirumalesh, an autorickshaw driver, and was born to the couple after 12 years of their wedding.
According to the police, Latha noticed her baby missing from the bed around 4 am when she woke up. She immediately alerted her husband and others in the family and began searching in the house and then sought help from the neighbours and other villagers who joined the search.
After a three-hour search, they called in the Abullapurmet police for help. The police discovered the body in the water tank on the roof of the baby’s grandparents’ house. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.
The police said Latha came to her mother’s house in Anjapur, 15 days ago. On Thursday night, as was usual, the baby was in bed with his mother and grandmother. The last time Latha saw her child was around 1 am, when she woke up and then went back to sleep, the police said.
“When Latha work up at around 4 am, she saw her son missing and informed the others in the house. The family in turn alerted the villagers, who scoured the area in search of the baby,” said Abdullapurmet inspector V. Swamy.
The police suspect jealousy within the family might have been the reason behind what they believe is the murder of the baby. The police, awaiting post mortem report, said they were not sure if the baby was killed and his body dumped in the water tank, of if the baby was alive when dropped into the tank.
It was learnt that the police have taken into custody a paternal uncle of the baby for questioning. The police said the man did not have any children of his own. Based on the complaint by Latha, the Abdullapurmet police booked a murder case under Section 302 IPC and further investigation is underway. Meanwhile, the police shifted the baby’s body to the Gandhi Hospital for an autopsy.
