A scientist's minor son has allegedly confessed to killing his mother at their home in Gorakhpur, days after he misled his father and police, claiming she died of an accidental fall, officials said.
Aarti Verma died after her son, a class 11 student, pushed her and her head crashed against a wall on December 3, police said.
The revelation came to light during a detailed investigation, Superintendent of Police (North) Jitendra Kumar Srivastava said.
"After two hours of questioning, the teenager admitted that he pushed his mother during an argument, leading to a fatal head injury," he said.
When Aarti's husband Ram Milan, an assistant scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Chennai, found her phone switched off for two days, he sent his sister-in-law to check the house on December 7.
The house was locked from outside. On returning to Gorakhpur the following evening, Milan found his wife's body on the floor, police said. Their son, found near a Shiva temple, initially told police and his father that his mother died after a fall. He claimed he locked the house from the outside in panic and wandered aimlessly for four days, police said.
However, the post-mortem report contradicted his account, they said. Further investigation raised suspicions as bloodstains were found at two different spots, indicating the body was dragged.
CCTV footage confirmed that no outsider had entered the house, as per police. Police allegedly recovered large amounts of cash in denominations of Rs 500, Rs 200, and Rs 100 from the boy's room, they said.
"During interrogation, the boy confessed on Tuesday evening that on the morning of December 3, his mother asked him to go to school. When he refused, a dispute over money ensued, and his mother threw cash at him in frustration," Srivastava said. "In a fit of rage, he pushed her, causing the fatal injury," he added.
The teenager has been taken apprehended, police added. PTI