‘Mentally ill’ woman kills 8-month-old son

NEW DELHI: A mentally disturbed woman allegedly decapitated her eight-month-old son before inflicting multiple injuries on herself at their home in outer Delhi’s Aman Vihar early on Friday, the police said.

Arrested from the crime scene, the 29-year-old woman identified as Sarika was hospitalised for treatment of her injuries and mental health. “The woman is semi-conscious and we haven’t been able to speak to her, but she has been violent even at the hospital,” said MN Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (outer Delhi).

The toddler’s killing has also prompted Sarika’s husband and other relatives to suspect that the seemingly natural death of another son of the couple four years ago too was murder. The DCP said he could “neither confirm, nor deny” this.

The immediate trigger for the toddler’s murder is unclear, said DCP Tiwari.

“She was undergoing treatment for mental illness at Lady Hardinge Hospital, but did not display violent behaviour with her three children,” the officer said, based on an initial interaction with her family.

Sarika’s husband, Hari Shankar, said there had been no recent family quarrels to prompt the violence.

“But she would often behave erratically and turn aggressive if I pressured her to perform household chores. But there was no such incident over the last few days,” said Shankar.

Rajat Mitra, a clinical psychologist, said that although it was difficult to comment on this particular case without interacting with the woman, “delusions and hallucinations” have previously been known to prompt similar violent crimes. “People do not necessarily have to have a history of mental illness or violence to commit such a crime,” said Mitra.

The couple lived with their three children in a multi-storey building they own in Aman Vihar’s Prem Nagar neighbourhood. Their two daughters, aged seven and two, mostly stay with their grandparents in the same neighbourhood.

On Thursday night, Sarika and her son were alone at home. Shankar was away at the local flea market where he sells clothes.

The crime came to light when Shankar returned home around 1.30 am. When repeated knocks went unanswered, he kicked open the door.