The child was first thrashed, thrown down the stairs and then strangled to death (Representational)

A couple in a live-in relationship has been arrested for the murder of the woman's four-year-old son, the Delhi Police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Komal and Ravikar, were living in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar and the boy was Komal's son from her first marriage.

Though both parents did not want to keep the child, Komal, when she left her husband, decided to take the boy with her.

"Though the child was living with his mother but both her and Ravikar hated him and finally, the man decided to murder him," a senior police officer said.

According to the police officer, the child was first thrashed by Ravikar, thrown down the stairs and then strangled to death.

"The post-mortem report revealed that the child was thrashed badly before being choked to death. During the interrogation, the accused also accepted the same," the officer added.

The crime came to light after a neighbour suspected the couple, who had told the entire neighbourhood that the child died after accidentally falling down the stairs and informed the police, who investigated the incident.