A 29-year-old man, arrested on charges of setting his four-year-old son on fire last week at Nannilam in Tiruvarur district, has confessed that he had committed the crime worried over an “astrological prediction”.
On the night of February 25, Ramki had picked a quarrel with wife Gayathri in an inebriated condition. Subsequently he doused their son, Saisaran, 4, in kerosene and set him afire.
Ms. Gayathri and their neighbours rushed the boy to the Government Hospital, Nannilam, from where he was referred to the Thanjavur Medical College hospital. The boy died later. The accused was arrested on February 26 based on a complaint by the woman.
During the interrogation, the accused confessed that an “astrological prediction” that his life would be riddled with problems in view of the “bad horoscope” of his son had induced him to commit the crime.