Man murders his four-month-old baby born out of wedlock, held in Chennai

 He had buried the body near the Karanai lake bed. Police exhumed the body on Friday but the baby’s head was missing.

                                                                  Representational image

CHENNAI: A 20-year-old man from Chengalpattu district was arrested by police on Friday and for allegedly murdering and burying his four-month-old child born out of wedlock. According to police, K Varun, who works in a private company, took the drastic step as he was afraid that his father may not allow him to marry his girlfriend, the mother of the baby.

Two years ago, Varun of Periyar Nagar in Urapakkam mistakenly dialled the wrong number and got in touch with S Vijayalakshmi of Meenambakkam. The two fell in love and Vijayalakshmi became pregnant by end of 2021. “Although she informed her parents about the relationship, they were against it. Varun did not inform his parents,” police said.

After Vijayalakshmi gave birth to a baby boy last July, her parents agreed to their marriage and the wedding was held in a temple near their house. However, Varun did not inform his father, and by end of November, he left the house along with Vijayalakshmi and the four-month-old baby due to constant fights with his father-in-law.

Varun had promised his wife that his friend Mahalakshmi would take care of the baby while he tried to convince his father to accept Vijayalakshmi. In February, Varun’s father finally accepted Vijayalakshmi, and they got married a second time. However, during the last two weeks, Vijayalakshmi had been asking Varun to bring the baby back, but he kept delaying it.

“Vijayalakshmi finally found out about Mahalakshmi’s house and was shocked to learn that Varun had taken back the baby three days after he gave it to Mahalakshmi. Vijayalakshmi filed a complaint with the Manimangalam police and a case was registered,” a senior police officer said.

During the investigation, Varun confessed to having killed the baby out of fear of his father. He had buried the body near the Karanai lake bed. Police exhumed the body on Friday but the baby’s head was missing. Police have expanded the search area and Varun was remanded in judicial custody.