BALASORE: Sahadevkhunta police arrested a couple on Saturday for allegedly killing their 14-year-old physically challenged son on Thursday night. The couple has been identified as Puja, the stepmother and Ganesh Jena.
According to police, the couple killed the child on Thursday night and threw his body in a pond around 3.30 am. The matter came to the fore when grandparents - Ganesh’s father Sanatan and mother Shantilata did not find the child at home. The grandparents Sanatan and Shantilata are native of Ganjiya village under Khantapada police station but they resided in a house on rent near Chandamari Padiya under Sahadevkhunta police station.
Their son and his second wife Puja were living with the child a kilometer away from their house.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused couple did not care about the child as he was disabled and dependent on his parents. So they killed him and informed the police.
Ganesh and Puja admitted to the crime when Ganesh’s father, Ward Councilor Sashirekha along with some locals asked the couple the whereabouts of the child.
Sahadevkhunta police registered cases against the couple under section 302 of the IPC after a complaint was lodged by Shantilata, the grandmother of the deceased on Friday at the Model Police station. Police along with fire personnel recovered the body from the pond. A scientific team from headquarters rushed to the spot for inquiry. Interrogation is underway and an autopsy was conducted on Saturday. The accused will be produced in Balasore SDJM court after interrogation, said, police officials.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused couple did not care about the child as he was disabled and dependent on his parents.