Angry Over Being Called A 'Thief', Girl, 13, Drowns 2 Minor Cousins

Two minor siblings drowned after they were pushed into a well allegedly by their 13-year-old female cousin over "thief" taunt in a village in Chhattisgarh's Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai (KCG) district, police said on Monday.

The incident took place on Sunday in Jhuranadi village under Chhuikhadan police station limits, and the accused minor has been detained, they said.

The victims were identified as Karan Verma (4) and his sister Vaishali (2), children of resident Gajanand Verma.

The accused girl told investigators that Karan called her a "chor" (thief) multiple times, which enraged her. In a fit of rage, the teenager pushed Karan as well as his sister into a well located in a vegetable garden in the village, according to a police official.

When Gajanand Verma and his wife could not find their son and daughter, they, along with other villagers, launched a frantic search for them. During the search, villagers noticed the body of a child floating in a well, and on being pulled out, it was identified as that of Vaishali, he said.

Suspecting the second missing child may also be in the water body, villagers drained the well using a motor pump and recovered the boy's body.

Based on a complaint of the victims' father, police have registered a case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chhuikhadan police station, he said.

During the probe, police detained the 13-year-old cousin of the victims, and she confessed to pushing them into the well. The teenager was subsequently sent to a juvenile home, the official added.

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