ROURKELA: In a shocking incident, a young man killed his five-year-old son at Sheetalpada slum under Uditnagar police station as a form of revenge.
Police sources said, the accused Rajesh Lakra (26) was suspecting the fidelity of his wife and he committed the crime with the intention of framing her for the murder.
The incident came to light on Saturday morning after the accused falsely tried to impress upon his neighbours that his wife Gunu Lakra (24) killed their son Aryan.
Police after a preliminary investigation took Lakra into custody on murder charges and sent the body for autopsy.
Zone II Deputy SP (DSP) Anil Pradhan said the couple was married for seven years following a love affair and they were working as daily wagers.
"Gradually Lakra started suspecting the character of his wife who used to go out for long hours as part of her livelihood. His suspicion kept on mounting which lead to frequent quarrels between the couple," he said.
The DSP also said that when Gunu did not return home on Friday night, Rajesh in a fit of rage strangulated the child to death with his mother’s ‘chunni’ (scarf) and hung the body.
Lakra then went out of the house and returned only in the morning to tell the neighbours that his son was killed by his wife and her paramour. But they did not trust him and handed him over to the police, he said.
Police said Lakra has confessed to the crime and told the investigating officer that he saw his wife riding a two-wheeler with another man and she deliberately ignored his call and did not return home on Friday night.
"From Lakra’s confession it appeared he was impatiently waiting to take revenge on his wife and when she did not return, his anger got directed towards the child," the DSP added.
The accused has been arrested on the complaint of his wife. The woman on the other hand claimed that her husband had also quarreled with her on Thursday. Hence she went to stay with her sister on Friday in order to avoid facing another episode of hostility.