A 24-year-old footpath dweller in Kolkata was arrested by the Maidan Police on Friday for allegedly murdering his five-month-old daughter.
The arrest of Debojit Jana, alias Piklu, followed a dramatic confrontation near the Brigade Parade Ground after his wife publicly accused him of the crime.
The incident came to light around 1.46 pm on Friday near the Shiv Mandir beside the TAOI Ground pond after a group of locals noticed 18-year-old Kajol Jana crying profusely. When they approached her, she narrated a harrowing account of what happened to her daughter on the previous Sunday (May 3) evening.
According to witnesses, Kajol told them that her husband had beaten their infant daughter to death while they were sitting on the grounds of the Brigade.
Debojit Jana allegedly beat his 5-month-old daughter to death and disposed of her body in a dustbin placed beside the JLN Road that same night, Kajol reportedly told the locals.
She further alleged that the child was killed by “repeated beating on her back and throttling”.
As Kajol recounted the tragedy, her husband was spotted walking towards the group. As the locals identified and intercepted Debojit, he initially attempted to flee, but they caught him. When the locals confronted him, Debojit reportedly confessed to the crime before the police arrived.
The police registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103(1) (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) after a resident near the Park Street Flyover, Chottu Mir, filed a complaint.
Investigating officers noted that while the mother appeared disoriented and incoherent during questioning, hospital records from Matri Sadan, Hazra, confirmed she had given birth to a baby girl on December 12, 2025.
The recovery of the infant’s body has proven difficult. While the accused led the police to a specific dustbin on JLN Road, the site had already been cleared by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) sanitation workers.
However, cameras near the site show the accused carrying the baby in his lap at 10.04 pm on May 3, according to the police. Subsequent footage shows him disposing of a “white plastic bag” into the dustbin shortly after, the police said, adding that they recovered the clothing worn by Debojit on the night of the incident.
Authorities have identified the specific KMC garbage vehicle that cleared the bin on Monday morning. The police said efforts to locate the child’s remains are currently ongoing.