Samarjit
(8), a resident of Bhagwanpur in Begusarai, 150 km
from here, yesterday “killed” a year old girl Khushi,
the neighbour’s daughter, by smashing her face with
a brick.
The boy, son
of a labourer at Manavpur in Musahri village
reportedly had also killed his one-year-old cousin
brother and his six-month-old sister in a similar
fashion previously. There is, however, no official
confirmation of the first two “killings”.
Bhagwalpur
police station officer in-charge Shatrughna Prasad
confirmed that Samarjit killed the baby while
playing.
The boy
allegedly told the police: “Khapda se mar mar ke
suta deliyay (I killed by beating her with a brick).”
The police
arrested the boy and sent him to a Begusarai remand
home.
According to
the police sources, the boy took the girl from her
mother’s lap and went to a nearby field. There he
laid the baby on grass and started smashing her face
repeatedly.
As there was
no one around, her cries could not be heard.
When she
died, Samarjit covered the body with grass and
leaves, and came back to his house.
Late in the
evening her relatives found the baby dead.
It was then
that the residents of the village summoned the
police and handed the boy over to them. The boy’s
parents fled the village before the police came.
While
speaking to the police the residents admitted that
they were “extra careful” around Samarjit,
especially after he had “killed his sister and
cousin”.
They added
that Khushi’s mother paid a heavy price for letting
down her guard, even for a brief while.
Begusarai
superintendent of police Amit Lodha said: “After
completing the preliminary formalities we have
handed the matter to the court. We will hear from
the court, who will be responsible for providing
medical assistance to the accused.”
Lodha added,
“We will also request the court to provide a
separate ward for this boy so that he does not harm
other juvenile delinquents staying at Begusarai
remand home.”
He, however,
stressed that the police, as yet, had no
confirmation of the two previous killings that the
villagers have accused the boy of.
Medical
experts’ opinions state that the boy might be
suffering from what is known as “conduct disorder”,
a mental state wherein a patient feels a sense of
gratification after inflicting injuries on others.
Nand Kumar,
a psychotherapist with the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, said: “Such cases need immediate
medical intervention. Doctors need to address the
chemical imbalance in patients’ brains.”
Kumar added
that while such cases are not rare, the intensity of
Samarjit’s action was a “dangerous” symptom.
