Thane: Mom’s excess dose of cough syrup leads to infant’s death – Times of India

THANE: A 30-year-old housewife from Kalwa has been arrested for allegedly killing her “ailing” six-month-old son and later dumping his body in a water-filled drum, the local police said on Sunday.
The accused, Shanta Chavan, lives with her husband, a labourer, and their three children, including the deceased infant, in the Mahatma Phule slums in Kalwa. “Based on our initial investigation, we have found out that Chavan gave an excessive dosage of cough syrup to her infant son on Thursday as he was unwell and coughing frequently. We believe this led to his death,” said deputy police commissioner Avinash Ambure.
The scared woman then dumped the body in a neighbourhood water drum in the early hours of Friday and approached the Kalwa police alleging her baby was missing. A kidnapping case was accordingly registered and the police launched search operations.
The police checked the CCTV footage around the slums, but didn’t find anything suspicious. It was only when police teams searched the area that they stumbled upon the infant floating in a plastic water-filled drum near the family’s residence on Saturday morning. The infant was rushed to a public hospital where he was declared dead. The police subsequently questioned a few neighbours, including family members of the accused, and learnt the baby was ailing and was under his mother’s supervision. The mother’s role was exposed after she faltered several times during questioning by the police. The case was cracked within 24 hours by the police.
“The woman told us she was scared of being reprimanded by her family after the baby fell lifeless after consuming the syrup and so she cooked up the story. We suspected something amiss, and she admitted to her crime during our interrogation,’’ said a police official. Chavan has been arrested for charges of murder and destroying evidence. “We are investigating the case further to know the motive,” added the official.