All four accused were sent to police custody by a local court.
Four persons have been arrested for allegedly murdering a woman and kidnapping her 10-month-old baby in Upper Assam, police said. The four accused involve a couple, their son, and the victim's mother.
According to the police, the couple arrested in the case was attempting to hand over the baby to their daughter who is childless.
The body of the woman, Nitumoni Lukhurakhon of Kenduguri Bailung village, was recovered from a drain at Rajabari Tea Estate in Charaideo district Tuesday morning. The woman had reportedly gone missing from a market in Simaluguri Monday evening. The baby was rescued from the inter-state bus terminus in Jorhat the following evening after a joint operation by police teams from Simaluguri, Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat.
According to the police, the baby was supposed to be transported to Himachal Pradesh where the arrested couple's daughter lives. However, acting on a tip-off, the police apprehended a woman named Pranali Gogoi, alias Hiramai, of Tengapukhuri, and her husband Basanta Gogoi from Simaluguri railway junction on Tuesday. The next day, the police arrested the couple's son, Prasanta Gogoi, and the victim's mother, Boby Lukhurakhon, for their involvement in the case.
"The family abducted Nitumoni and her child with the intention to send the baby to their daughter in Himachal Pradesh, However, by the time the couple was arrested, their son had already boarded a train with the child. But he was arrested on the train. It was a preplanned murder. The Gogi couple committed the crime to fulfill the dream of their married daughter who stays in Himachal Pradesh but does not have kids," Sivasagar senior police officer Subhrajyoti Borah said.
"The couple invited Nitumoni and her baby on the pretext of some work but tried to snatch away the baby from her. When Nitumoni resisted, the couple attacked her with some blunt object and killed her," Mr Borah added.
All four accused have been sent to police custody by a local court.