Indian-origin woman kills son fearing separation

LONDON - An Indian-origin woman in Britain has killed her 12-year-old autistic son because she feared he will be taken into care, a media report said Tuesday.

As her son Ajit lay unconscious by her side, Satpal Kaur swallowed some of the deadly Domestos before dialling 999, Daily Express reported.

She told an operator: “I have just murdered my son and I have tried to kill myself. He is dead.”

Kaur, 44, claimed she heard a voice in her head which said: “It’s time, it’s the end, God’s calling us,” the Old Bailey was told Monday. Placing a cup of bleach before her son, she told him: “Pick it up, you have to do it.”

Police and paramedics arrived to find Ajit slumped on the sofa. He was not breathing, had no pulse and there was damage to his chin, mouth and throat from the caustic liquid.

Singh feared social workers in Barking and Dagenham, east London, were about to take Ajit away from her because of her poor parenting skills.

Before getting her son to drink the lethal bleach, Kaur scribbled a note to social services saying: “Please burn us together. If you people do not let us stay alive peacefully then maybe we can be together when we are dead.”

The boy was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead following multiple organ failure shortly. The stench of bleach was so powerful, medical staff had to wear masks.

kaur, of Barking, was charged with murdering her son in February. But Monday the prosecution accepted her plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The court heard that two psychiatrists found she was suffering from mental illness. One said she has an untreatable personality disorder.

She will be sentenced next month.

The court heard Ajit was dependant on his mother for all his needs and found conversation difficult.

He hated crowds and would cover his ears and scream in noisy environments. But he also had no sense of danger, the court heard.

She had married the boy’s father in April 1996 but they later separated. He described her as a loving and affectionate mother but “there is no cure for a suspicious mind”.

The court heard she was suspicious of everyone, including her husband, neighbours, social workers and even cab drivers who took him to school.

Recorder of London Peter Beaumont, QC, remanded Kaur in custody until Dec 13 for further reports.