6-year-old strangled using dupatta; mom arrested for murder

CHENNAI: A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her six-year-old son after an investigation found he died of strangulation.

Sivaranjani lived in Vyasarpadi with her husband, Veerachelvan, 35,and two children, Krishnan, 6, and Mithran who is nine months old. Police said Krishnan was born to Sivaranjani from a previous marriage

Police said that around 6am on May 4, Sivaranjani informed her husband that she found Krishnan unconscious at home. They took the child to Govt Stanley Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Police began an inquiry after being alerted by the hospital staff about bruises on the child's neck. Police said Sivaranjani initially claimed Krishnan had fallen from a sofa, which raised suspicion. A postmortem concluded that the child died of asphyxiation due to strangulation. Police said that during the probe, Sivaranjani had given conflicting accounts of events leading to the death.

Police said Krishnan had stopped going to school and had behavioural issues. On the day of the incident, Krishnan had allegedly tied a sacred thread around Mithran's neck tightly while playing, causing the infant to cry, the police said. Sivaranjani then tried to discipline the older child by winding a dupatta around his neck to demonstrate how it hurt the infant, during which Krishnan lost consciousness. The woman placed him on a cot, believing he had fallen asleep.

When she tried to wake him up next morning, he did not respond.Police altered the case to murder, arrested Sivaranjani and remanded her in judicial custody.