Woman Turns Down Proposal, Man Kills Her 1-Year-Old Son, Then An Encounter

A man who had killed a one-and-a-half-year-old child by slamming him against the ground has been arrested after an exchange of fire in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad. Jitendra Pathak, alias Viraj, suffered a gunshot wound to his leg during the encounter. He admitted that he wanted to marry the child's mother, but she had refused, saying she already had a child.

The Murder

Viraj viewed Rati's marriage and her son, Aarav, as obstacles to their marriage. So he came up with a plan.

On Saturday, he took Aarav away on the pretext of buying him toffees. He killed him by repeatedly slamming him against the ground. By the time Aarav's family members came to know about it, it was too late. They rushed him to a hospital, but he was declared dead by the doctors. Viraj had fled by then.

The child's mother, Rati, told the cops that Viraj had been constantly pressuring her to marry her and had taken away Aarav, promising that he would buy him a toffee.

A murder case was subsequently filed against him.

The Encounter

The police received intelligence that Viraj had been spotted near the Bhudha Bharthara intersection on Mainpuri Road. A four-member team was formed, and the area was cordoned off.

The accused, who was hiding in the bushes, suddenly opened fire on the personnel. The police returned fire. Wounded in the leg, Viraj collapsed and sustained injuries. He was then taken into custody.

A country-made pistol, five live cartridges, and two spent shells were recovered from his possession.

Revelation

During interrogation, Viraj revealed that he wanted to marry Rati but that she had consistently refused. Rati told him that she couldn't marry him since she already had a son. Frustrated with his refusal, he came up with the idea to kill the child.

"We are working to gather all necessary evidence expeditiously to file a charge sheet in the court. We will try to ensure that the court gives him the strictest punishment," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Superintendent of Police (City), Firozabad.

Inputs by Jitendra Kishore