Mother throws her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he is 'mauled to death' by reptiles after father ordered her to 'throw the child away' in India

A mother has thrown her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he has reportedly been mauled to death by reptiles.

Savitri Kumar, 26, from Uttara Kannada, a district in the western Indian state of Karnataka, had a heated argument with the boy's father, Ravi Kumar, 27, who repeatedly ordered her to 'throw the child away', the Times of India reports. 

Police say her husband allegedly questioned her decision to give birth to a child with a disability.

When the parents fought about their son again on Saturday evening, Savitri was 'distressed' and reportedly threw her son into a waste canal that flows into the Kali river, which is infested with crocodiles.

Neighbours who witnessed this called the police, who deployed divers to search for the boy in the water, but to no avail, as the darkness hindered their operations. 

A mother has thrown her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he has reportedly been mauled to death by reptiles (file image)

They returned on Sunday morning and found the child's body, which showed bite marks all over.

The boy suffered severe injuries and was missing a hand, which a police officer suggested indicated that the boy was mauled to death by one or more crocodiles.

A post mortem has been ordered to determine the six-year-old's cause of death.

The couple also has another son aged two and is said to frequently fight about their older son's speech impediment. 

Officers have launched an investigation into the incident.

A police officer telling local media that it was a 'murder' case and that both the husband and wife have been arrested.