Two women were arrested on Wednesday on charges of being involved in the murder of two-and-a-half-year-old Rahim Ansari, whose body was found in a drain in Howrah on Tuesday morning.

Putul and Wahida Khatun, sister and mother of Rahim’s aunt Asgari Begum, were picked up after the post-mortem report revealed that the boy had been strangled.

“Putul and her mother Wahida have been arrested following a complaint by Rahim’s father,” said Milan Das, Howrah’s additional superintendent of police (town). They have been remanded in police custody for 14 days.

The two were detained for questioning on Tuesday.

A divorce case is pending between Asgari and Mohammed Idris Ansari, brother of Rahim’s father Rashid. Asgari walked out of the Ansari household after the case was filed and has since been living at her parents’ house, near the spot where the child’s body was found.

But Asgari, her mother and sister would often visit the Ansaris’ home at 9 Jolapara Masjid Lane, in the Howrah police station area. Police said heated altercations would break out between the two sides, with Asgari holding Rashid and his wife Yasmin Begum responsible for instigating Idris to seek a divorce.

Around 6.30 pm on Sunday, Wahida and Putul had visited the Ansaris and threatened Rashid and Yasmin with dire consequences, an investigating officer said. They left around 7 pm and Rahim went missing soon after.

“All along, we suspected foul play,” the officer added. “The body was found nearly two km from the boy’s house. It is almost impossible for the child to go that far on his own. So, the possibility of accidental death was very slim. Besides, just before his disappearance, Wahida and Putul had visited his house and threatened his parents.”

Harshit Sarkar, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem, said: “Someone had forcefully kept the mouth and the nose of the boy closed for a long time. He might have died of suffocation. Besides, his body was found face down in the drain, which was full of water. He might have lost consciousness due to the forceful closure of the mouth and nose and was later drowned in the drain.”