Bareilly (UP), February 13 A man allegedly strangled his one-year-old son to death, suspecting his wife of infidelity, and dumped the body in a pond in the district, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on Wednesday night in Athana village.
According to police, the 30-year-old accused, identified as Sompal, suspected his wife of having an affair and doubted the paternity of his younger son, Varun, as the child did not resemble him.
Bhuta Station House Officer Ravindra Kumar said that the victim's mother, Rambeti, had been living at her parental home in Boni village for the past two months due to frequent quarrels and alleged domestic violence by her husband, who is addicted to alcohol.
On Wednesday, Sompal went to his in-laws' house and forcibly took along his elder son Arun (5) and one-year-old Varun to Athana village. Later that night, he allegedly strangled Varun to death and threw the body into a pond, police said.
The body was recovered and sent for postmortem examination, he said.
"During interrogation, the accused told police that he believed only his elder son was his biological child and alleged that Varun was born out of his wife's relationship with another man," the official said.
Police said he "showed no remorse" during questioning.
Rambeti, in her complaint, alleged that her husband often beat her under the influence of alcohol and repeatedly accused her of infidelity. Distressed over his behaviour, she had been staying at her parental home, she said.
Based on her complaint, a case was registered and the accused was arrested.He was sent to jail on Thursday, the SHO said.