CHENNAI: Police arrested a woman who burnt alive her six-year-old son near Poonamallee and dumped him in the septic tank. She was depressed that her family members disrespected her after she married a man of her choice against their parents’ will.

Police said Meenakshi, 28, wanted to kill herself too by hanging, but abandoned the idea out of fear and shaved her head instead. Meenakshi, who settled in Krishnagiri after marriage, had come to her house on Avadi Road in Karayanchavadi on Thursday for her son Srikanth’s half-yearly exam vacation.

"They stayed in a room behind the house. After everyone in the family slept on Friday night, she poured kerosene on her son and set him ablaze before throwing his half-burnt body into the septic tank through the backdoor. She also tried to hang herself inside the house, but changed her mind out of fear," said police.

On Saturday morning, Meenakshi did not step out of her room till 11am. When her mother confronted her and asked about Srikanth, she took them to the half-burnt body lying in the septic tank. After they alerted the police control room, the Poonamallee police reached the spot and sent Srikanth’s remains to Kilpauk Government Hospital for post-mortem. "The boy’s face was completely charred and the dress on him was partially burnt. A case has been registered and Meenakshi has been arrested for murder," said the police officer.

After preliminary inquiry, police said Meenakshi married Saravanan, her then co-employee at a mobile phone manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur, against her parents’ will and moved to Saravanan’s hometown Krishnagiri. While Saravanan is into farming now, Meenakshi often visited her mother’s house in Karayanchavadi whenever there was a quarrel with Saravanan, said police. While Meenakshi’s father passed away years ago, Meenakshi’s younger brother and sister were living with her mother. Meenakshi was abused by her husband as well as father-in-law and is said to have been upset that her family members also did not care for her.