THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A woman killed her 36-day-old infant by throwing him into a well on the premises of her house in Manjamala, near Pothencode, on Wednesday. The deceased is Sreedev, son of Suritha and Saji. The Pothencode police have arrested Suritha, 28, of Manjamala, in connection with the incident.
According to the police, the incident took place around 2 am at Suritha’s residence when the infant was sleeping beside her. At that time, Suritha’s mother and grandmother were only present at the house. Her husband Saji was at his residence. The police said it was a premeditated murder, as she did not have the financial ability to raise the infant.
The police said that Suritha had confessed to the crime. The family had severe financial issues and they didn’t even have the money to conduct the ‘noolukettu’ ceremony when the boy turned 28 days old. The police said that the child was also diagnosed with kidney disease, and the family did not have money for further treatment. The couple has another child. Suritha told the police that they were not in a position to raise two children.
However, Suritha initially tried to convince the family members and neighbours that the boy was taken away by some outsiders through the backdoor of the house while she was sleeping. So she screamed aloud to make the relatives and neighbours believe that the infant was taken away by someone. The backdoor was also kept open by Suritha. Later, the neighbours informed the police. During the search, the police found a towel that was used to cover the baby on the edge of the well. Later, the infant’s body was also found in the well. With the help of the fire and rescue team, the infant’s body was taken out and shifted to the mortuary of the medical college hospital.
“Initially, the accused tried to make us believe that she was suffering from depression. Later, she confessed that it was the financial issues that prompted her to kill the infant. The autopsy report also revealed that there was the presence of water in the lungs and stomach and that the boy died due to drowning. A probe is being conducted to verify whether any other persons were also involved in the crime, police said. Suritha was taken to the spot for evidence collection on Wednesday evening. Later her arrest was recorded and she was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. She has been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” said Ithihas Saha, Pothencode inspector of police.