Khargone: A fortnight after giving birth to her youngest child, a woman drowned the infant and her two minor children in a well in Sanawad police station area on Wednesday morning.
Khargone Superintendent of Police Ravindra Verma told TOI that the incident occurred in a field located between Malgaon and Bhomwada villages.
"The woman, Nani Bai, first threw her 2-year-old son Arjun and 4-year-old son Karan into the well located in the field. Then she jumped into the well along with her 15-day-old infant," the SP said.
He said that although Nani Bai knew how to swim, she panicked after jumping into the well.
She managed to come out with the help of a rope and a ladder present inside the well. After climbing out, she raised an alarm, which drew the attention of nearby villagers.
Villagers rushed to the spot and pulled the children out of the well. By the time they were rescued, all three children had drowned. Police were immediately informed about the incident, following which a team from Sanawad police station reached the spot, initiated an inquiry, and sent the bodies for autopsy.
Verma said that at the time of the incident, the woman's husband Kalu, a daily wager, had gone to the fields for work. "According to preliminary findings, she had delivered a baby around 15 days ago and was experiencing post-partum depression, making it difficult for her to cope with the responsibility of caring for three children. A case of murder was registered against the woman," he said.
Kalu told mediapersons that he had come to Malgaon along with 20 labourers from Piplud area of Khandwa district to work as agricultural labourers. The group engaged in wheat harvesting in the fields and stayed temporarily near the farmland, he said.
Kalu said he had left for work with other labourers around 7 am on Wednesday. He came to know about the incident later when villagers informed him. He added that there was no dispute between him and his wife and that they lived together peacefully.