Thane, January 25: A Thane court has acquitted a woman for charges of killing her one-year-old son and trying to kill her elder child, for want of sufficient evidence against her. District Judge P R Kadam acquitted the woman while observing that the husband of the accused and the surviving son, who was also a witness in the case, did not support the prosecution theory.

The prosecution told the court that the woman and her husband, originally from Hooghly district in West Bengal, were staying in the Diva township of Thane district along with their two sons. The woman's husband worked as a labourer here. However, the woman used to fall sick frequently and was depressed because of health issues. In that depression, she allegedly assaulted her two children, then aged 1 and 11, on July 13, 2016, and then tried to commit suicide, the prosecution told the court.

The woman, aged 30, allegedly slit the throat of the toddler, who died on the spot. She also stabbed her elder son, causing him injuries. The woman also inflicted injuries on herself and was hospitalised for some days, the prosecution said. Her husband later lodged an FIR, based on which the police arrested the woman and registered offences against her under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and309 (attempt to commit suicide).

However, during the trial, her husband and the son told the court that two persons entered their house on the day of the incident and assaulted the woman, who was sick and asleep, and the children. Judge Kadam observed that the evidence of the boy was more important as he was an eyewitness in the case. The boy put facts on record that two persons entered their house and assaulted family members. The accused's defence is also on the same lines, he noted. The forensic report also did not help the prosecution's case, he said.

Considering the woman's defence and the evidence on record, there is nothing to prove the case against her beyond reasonable doubt though there is a strong suspicion that she assaulted her sons and thereafter tried to commit suicide, the judge said. But the suspicion, though it is strong, cannot take the place of evidence, he said. "So considering all the evidence on record, I am of the view that the prosecution failed to prove the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt," the judge said while acquitting the woman on Tuesday.