TIRUVANNAMALAI: In a disturbing revelation, the postmortem report of Umadevi (25), a five-month pregnant woman who allegedly killed her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Meghanasree and ended her life at Karikalampadi village in Tiruvannamalai, confirmed that the foetus was male, contradicting an earlier illegal scan that had identified it as female. Her husband and in-laws had allegedly harassed her over the female foetus.
Health officials at the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College and Hospital on Friday confirmed the findings after the autopsy.
According to police sources, Umadevi and her husband had travelled to Tirupati on Monday to undergo an illegal scan to determine the sex of the foetus. The scan allegedly revealed the foetus to be female. Following this, her husband’s family allegedly tried to coerce her into undergoing an abortion.
When Umadevi resisted, an altercation ensued during which she was allegedly assaulted. Hours later, both Umadevi and her daughter were found dead in a well near their home in Kilpennathur. Police had arrested four people, including Umadevi’s husband and in-laws, on Wednesday under Sections 296 (b), 85 and 108 of the BNS, and Section 4 (b) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 1998.
Responding to queries on whether the postmortem confirmation would lead to changes in the charges, a senior police officer told TNIE, “There is no need to alter the sections. Regardless of whether the foetus was male or female, sex determination itself is illegal. The offence remains the same under the law.”
Special teams have now been formed to probe the illegal scanning centre in Tirupati and other districts. (Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on health department helpline 104)