Woman throws toddler into canal

A woman in Faridabad allegedly threw her two-year-old son into the Agra canal from the BPTP bridge on Sunday evening, reportedly under the influence of a Tantrik who claimed the child was the offspring of a ‘white jinn’ and a threat to the family. The woman was spotted by passersby as she committed the act and was promptly handed over to police.

Police, fire department personnel, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers have been searching the Agra canal since Sunday night. The woman, Megha Lukra and the Tantrik, identified as Mita Bhatia, have both been taken into custody. An FIR has been registered against them at the BPTP police station.

According to a police complaint filed by Megha’s husband, Kapil Lukra, the couple had been married for 16 years and lived in a flat in Faridabad’s Sainik Colony with their two children — 14-year-old Manya and two-year-old Tanmay, also known as Ronik.

Kapil alleged his wife had been in contact with Mita Bhatia for a long time. “The Tantrik used to tell Megha our son was born of a white jinn and would bring ruin to the family. Megha became mentally disturbed as a result,” he said.

On Sunday evening, around 5 pm, Megha reportedly left home with Tanmay without informing anyone. Kapil began searching for them when he realised they were missing. At around 9 pm, police informed him Megha had been taken into custody on suspicion of throwing her son into

the canal.

“I rushed to the BPTP police station and was shocked to see Megha there. I couldn’t believe what had happened,” Kapil said in his statement.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the woman standing on the bridge with the child in her arms. As she prepared to throw the boy into the water, onlookers raised an alarm and tried to intervene. Though she was quickly caught and the police were alerted via Dial-112, the child had already been thrown into the canal.

“A case has been registered against Megha Lukra and Tantrik Mita Bhatia. They are being questioned. Meanwhile, teams from the police, fire services and NDRF are continuing the search for the child,” said Inspector Arvind Kumar, SHO of the BPTP police station.

As of Monday evening, the child had not been found. The search operation is ongoing.

Delhi