Father 'accidentally kills two-year-old son with an axe after hurling it at monkeys on his roof to chase them away'
A two-year-old boy was allegedly killed with an axe after his father hurled the weapon at monkeys to chase them away - but hit him instead.
The little boy had been playing outside his home in Uttar Pradesh, India, when Lakhan Singh thought a group of monkeys that had entered his garden might attack his son, he claimed.
Panicked, Lakhan said he ran to the roof to throw an axe at them and scare them away.
His throw missed the animals and instead slashed young Aarav's neck, local media has reported.
The boy was rushed to hospital in Moradabad but doctors said there was nothing they could do to help as the boy had died.
But Lakhan's brother-in-law, Jitendra Singh, has disputed Lakhan's version of the events.
He alleged that the youngster was murdered - a suspicion that was raised after the young boy's body was buried without notifying the police, it was reported.
He claimed Aarav was killed by Mr Singh while he was fighting with his wife, Anita, who he allegedly frequently assaulted.
The little boy had been playing outside his home in Uttar Pradesh, India, when Lakhan Singh thought a group of monkeys that had entered his garden might attack his son, he claimed
Lakhan had allegedly threatened to hurt the boy to scare her - an act he had done repeatedly - but brought the axe too close to the boy's neck and killed him.
He told NDTV: 'Lakhan had a fight with Anita on Monday night when he locked her in the room and beat her up.
'The argument subsided at night, but on Tuesday morning, it ignited again.
'While the husband and wife were fighting, Aarav was in his grandfather Ramchandra's lap.
'During the fight, Lakhan snatched Aarav, picked up an axe, and killed him.'
Another outlet reported him saying 'my brother-in-law often abused my sister. This wasn't an accident. It was murder'.
A neighbour offered a different account, claiming that monkeys had dropped an iron pole on the boy's head from building works done near the roof.
'The tent work was recently done at Lakhan's house, after which iron rods were kept on the roof,' Jagat Singh Saini, a relative to Lakhan, said.
'A group of monkeys dropped them, which hit the child's head, and he started bleeding,' the local council member added.
'He was taken for treatment, but he was declared dead.'
Police are said to have not ruled out the possibility of murder and are waiting on post-mortem and forensic findings to aid in the investigation, according to dajiworld.com.
However, another outlet has reported that the police have declared the death accidental.
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