Chembur boy’s murder: Unable to fund treatment, mother strangulated ailing 6-yr-old

“Around 9 am on Monday, Savita contacted her friend and told her Devraj was not waking up. The friend, who was not at home then, reached the barrack and failed to wake up the minor. Devraj was then rushed to Shatabdi Hospital where he was declared dead,” said an officer.

With ligature marks found on Devraj’s neck, the RCF police registered a case of murder.

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According to officers, the room where Sarita and Devraj were sleeping was locked from inside and there was no sign of a forced entry.

“Circumstantial evidence pointed to the mother. Savita finally confessed that she used her dupatta to strangle her child in his sleep around 4 am,” said Shahaji Umap, Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The probe revealed the minor was suffering from a serious case of convulsions, which aggravated after the onset of the monsoon. Devraj’s condition apparently worsened every time it rained, the police said.

“The mother told the police she earned Rs 4,000 working as a domestic help in three homes in Chembur. With her son’s deteriorating condition, she could not afford an extra expense of Rs 2,000. This is why she resorted to murder,” Umap added.

An investigator said Savita and Devraj had dinner around 1.30 am. Hours later, she used her dupatta to kill him. “Savita claimed to have killed her son and then slept next to him. She wore the murder weapon, the dupatta, back around her neck and then called her friend at 9 am on Monday, pretending not to know what went wrong with her son,” said an investigator.

A preliminary probe revealed that Savita’s husband died in 2012. Prior to that, she had lost her two daughters, who too suffered from convulsions, in 2008.

“Though Savita has been arrested, she has not been produced before a magistrate court yet. She wanted to be there for her son’s last rites on Tuesday afternoon. We will produce her on Wednesday,” said Dilip Raut, Senior Inspector, RCF police.