Angry at his wife for not giving him money for more alcohol, an intoxicated casual labourer threw his 1-year-old son against a wall, killing the baby, at Badsi village in Nizamabad district, late on Monday night.
According to Inspector Umachari, 35-year-old Narayana then tried to burn the baby, even as his horrified wife froze with shock.
Police say that Narayana had earlier entered into an argument with his wife Savitri (28) when she refused to give him money to buy more alcohol. The argument left Narayana infuriated and, in a fit of rage, he picked up his sleeping son, Ninender, and threw him against the wall.
The baby died on the spot. The death, however, was apparently not enough to bring Narayana back to his senses. He proceeded to throw lit matchsticks on the boy's body.
The toddler's clothes caught fire, and Savitri managed to douse these flames, but not before the baby's chest was partially burnt.
Savitri's cries of anguish soon brought the incident to the attention of the neighbours. They arrived on the scene and caught hold of Narayana.
The neighbours gave Narayana a sound thrashing, after tying him to a tree. They then handed him over to the police.
A case has been registered under section 302 IPC against Narayana. He has been arrested.