Woman throws 5-year-old stepson into well in Odisha, arrested

Rourkela, Odisha: A 20-year-old woman allegedly killed her five-year-old stepson by throwing him into a well after blindfolding him and tying his hands in Odisha's Sundargarh district, a police officer said on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old woman, who also tied a large stone to his body before throwing him into the well, was arrested.

She was not happy as her husband loved that boy more than her own child, the officer said.

The incident occurred on October 11 in a village under Raghunathpalli police station near Rourkela town.

The arrested woman is the second wife of the boy’s father. The entire family - the first wife who is the mother of the boy, the second wife and their husband - live together.

On October 12, the boy's father filed a missing diary at the local police station.

During the investigation, the police found that the boy was last seen playing with her stepmother near the village well, said Upasana Padhi, Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Rourkela (zone-3).

The police, with the help of a fire service team, extracted water from the well and the body of the boy was found, she said.

"During interrogation, it was revealed that the stepmother killed the boy out of jealousy because her husband was more affectionate to the boy than her own child,” Padhi said.

The police arrested the accused Nauri Gudia who was remanded to judicial custody by a local court on Wednesday.