mumbai

Updated: Nov 15, 2018 07:44 IST

A minor boy died on Tuesday after being fed rat poison by his mother. Rina Ayare, 34, attempted to commit suicide on Monday by consuming rat poison and fed the same poison to her five-year-old son, Harsh. While Ayare is out of danger, Harsh died on Tuesday, while receiving treatment at Cooper Hospital in Juhu.

“The rat poison caused irreversible damage to Harsh who succumbed to liver failure overnight. Rina’s condition is also critical. She will soon be shifted to the medical intensive care unit. The doctors are still unsure about the quantity of poison the two consumed,” said the assistant medical officer of the hospital.

“A case was registered against Rina Ayare under the charge of murder,” said Vinod Kanavaje of Santacruz police station. Preliminary investigations suggest the tragedy began with marital discord. Ayare, who lives in a low-income area of Shivaji Nagar, on Juhu Tara road, with her husband Rajesh, had asked for money to meet household expenses on Monday night, around 9.30pm. Rajesh, 40, works with a cellphone service provider. He refused to give Ayare money and an altercation followed between the two. In a fit of rage, Ayare left the house around 10.30pm, with five-year-old Harsh, who is the elder of their two sons.

According to the police, Ayare took Harsh to Juhu beach, then went to a shop and bought poison around 11pm. She first consumed the poison herself and then fed it to Harsh. “She [Ayare] went to Juhu beach along with her son and was worried about how she would manage to care for her son. She then decided to commit suicide and went to a store and bought rat poison,” said a police officer. When Harsh started vomiting, the panicked mother rushed him to Cooper Hospital at around midnight.

At the hospital, Ayare was showing symptoms of poisoning too, but was able to narrate what she’d done to the doctors. The hospital informed Santacruz police station that they had a case of poisoning. Both Ayare and Harsh were admitted and given treatment. While Ayare responded to the medication, Harsh died at 2.30pm on Tuesday.

When the hospital informed the police of Harsh’s passing, a duty officer visited Cooper Hospital and prepared a punchnama. By this time, a distraught Rajesh had been informed and had reached the hospital.

“We took Rajesh’s statement, who spoke about his argument with his wife over daily expenses. Following his statement, a case was registered against Rina under the charge of murder,” said Kanavaje.

Ayare had initially given a statement outlining the events of Monday night to the police on the basis of which a first information report (FIR) has been filed. Hindustan Times has seen a copy of the FIR.

At present, Ayare is in a state of shock and recovering in Cooper Hospital.

The police said an investigation into the case is underway.