GUNTUR: In a macabre incident, a man tried to cut the hand of his 18-month-old son to exert pressure on his wife to get more dowry, in the Railpeta Colony of Bapatla on Friday.

Bapatla inspector P. Rama Rao said that G. Sivakrishna was drunk at the time and is now cooling his heels in the lock-up. The police is investigating the case. Mr Rama Rao said that Sivakrishna had married Subhashini two years ago and the couple had a son. At the time of marriage Subhashini’s parents had promised to give him dowry later. When they couldn’t do so, he sent her to her parents’ home and kept the son with him.

On Friday evening alcohol made Sivakrishna remember his in-laws’ promises and his frustration turned to anger. He telephoned Subashini telling her that he would cut off the hand of his son if she did not bring the promised dowry.

“My parents are poor, how can I make them give him the money? I tried to stop him, but he went ahead and tried to cut my son's hand,” Subhashini told this newspaper later. Sivakrishna tried to cut the toddler’s hand with a sharp blade. The boy’s screams alerted neighbours. They rushed into the house and rescued him.

The neighbours handed over Sivakrishna to the police and took the boy to a private hospital for treatment. He was later shifted to GGH Guntur. “This time, he warned me beforehand. Next time, he will do something worse. I will never leave my son with him alone ever again,” Subhashini said. Meanwhile, relatives who heard about the incident are trying to broker peace between the couple. The police is investigating the case.