Ariyalur, June 19: A 58-year-old man, Veeramuthu, was arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering his infant grandchild due to a superstitious belief that the child had brought bad luck upon the family. The tragic incident occurred in Utkottai near Jayamkondam in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district.

According to India Today, the infant, named Sathwik, was born last month to Veeramuthu’s daughter Sangeetha and her husband Balamurugan. Veeramuthu had taken loans from several people to fund his daughter’s wedding a year ago. Sathwik was born in the Tamil month of Chithirai, which some villagers claimed would bring bad luck to the family. Kochi Shocker: Mother Strangles Newborn Infant To Death Before Hurling Baby From Fifth Floor of Apartment in Kerala, Case Registered.

Veeramuthu reportedly became increasingly unhappy since Sathwik's birth, influenced by the villagers' superstitions. Around the same time, he faced mounting pressure from moneylenders to repay his loans. Convinced that the family's financial difficulties were caused by the child's "ill omen," Veeramuthu decided to take drastic action. Navi Mumbai Shocker: Enraged After Heated Argument With Wife, Drunk Man Kills 5-Month-Old Daughter by Slamming Her Onto the Floor in Uran; Arrested.

In the early hours of Friday, while the family was asleep, Veeramuthu took his grandson and placed him, along with a blanket, into a water-filled barrel in the bathroom. He then closed the barrel with a lid to muffle the child's cries. After dawn, Veeramuthu raised an alarm, pretending that the child was missing. The family searched frantically, eventually discovering the infant's body in the barrel.

Upon being informed, Jayamkondam police arrived at the scene and sent the child's body to the Government Hospital in Jayamkondam for a postmortem. During the investigation, Veeramuthu confessed to the crime, citing strong superstition as his motive.

Inspector N. Ramarajan, the Investigation Officer, stated that Veeramuthu initially considered abandoning the child far away but ultimately decided to kill him due to his superstitious beliefs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2024 08:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).