CHENNAI: The police on Wednesday arrested a 27-year-old woman for allegedly strangling her six-year-old son. According to the police, the woman tied a dupatta around the boy’s neck to demonstrate to him the pain of strangulation, after he squeezed his younger sibling’s neck while playing.

She later claimed he died in an accident. The woman, Sivaranjani of Vyasarpadi, lived with her partner, Veerachelvan (35), who worked at a TASMAC bar, and her two children, Krishnan (6) and nine-month-old Mithran. Krishnan was Sivaranjani’s child from her first husband.

On May 4, Sivaranjani told family members that she found Krishnan unconscious. The couple took the child to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

After receiving information from the hospital, the Vyasarpadi police began an inquiry and noticed injury marks on the child’s neck. Sivaranjani told the police Krishnan got the injuries after falling from a sofa. This raised suspicion. But the post-mortem report concluded that the child died due to asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Sivaranjani was arrested, and a magistrate court remanded her in judicial custody.