A 32-year-old woman hacked her son to death on Wednesday night and threw the body into a nearby pond at Jaichanditala in Howrah. The body of the five-year-old boy was fished out by officers of Domjur police station on Thursday morning and sent for post-mortem.

Niraj Kumar Singh, the superintendent of police, Howrah, said: “Sabita Maji was arrested for killing her youngest son, Suman, alias Sona. She initially refused to admit to the killing. But she confessed after a prolonged interrogation.”

According to the confession, on Wednesday afternoon Suman asked his mother for biscuits, which she refused. When the boy continued pestering her, Sabita lost her cool and started hitting him on the head, shoulder, face and back with a bonti. The boy slumped to the floor, bleeding profusely.

When Sabita realised that Suman was dead, she threw his body into a pond a few yards from her shanty. She then went around the neighbourhood asking if anyone had seen Suman.

Some neighbours came to her home and found bloodstains on the floor and walls. “When we asked her about it, she said Suman had cut his finger on the bonti. But we did not believe her and called the police,” said Samir Porel, a neighbour.

The cops reached Sabita’s home around 10.30pm and took her to the police station. “The woman is strong-minded. For nearly four hours she refused to admit that she had killed her son,” an officer said.

Sabita’s husband Tapan Maji, 40, a vegetable seller at Domjur market, said: “I returned home at 4.30pm and asked Sabita about Suman. She told me he had cut his finger and fled. I grew suspicious on seeing blood stains all over the floor, but I never thought she could kill her son.”

The couple have two more sons. Elder son Tanmoy, a Class V student, had gone to visit his aunt at Bhandargachi. The second son, Manas, stays with the aunt.