KOCHI: In the case relating to the death of a four-year-old girl in Mattakkuzhi, Ernakulam, the murder-accused mother has stated that she was unaware the child had been subjected to sexual abuse by her husband’s brother.
The woman, currently in police custody for allegedly throwing the child into the Chalakudy river, told investigators she was frustrated with the way her husband’s family showed excessive interest in the child, leading her to the murder.
“During questioning, she said she often felt alienated by her husband’s family, and even from her own daughter,” a police officer with the probe team said. The woman reportedly believed that her husband was planning a second marriage, which intensified her anxiety about her daughter’s future.
“She told us that she had nightmares of the child growing up under the care of a stepmother. And in a state of emotional turmoil, she convinced herself that ending the child’s life was a way to ‘save’ her,” the officer added.
Substantiating these claims, Beena, the Mattakkuzhi ward representative and a local resident, said the woman harboured the belief that the child received excessive affection from her paternal relatives, which deeply frustrated her.
“As neighbours, we knew the child’s paternal family, especially her grandmother, far better than we knew the accused. They were all incredibly loving towards the child and that seemed to upset her,” Beena said.
She also recalled a previous incident where the mother allegedly attempted to give the child poison-laced ice cream.
“The neighbours intervened as mediators at the time. Even then, she expressed the same concern that her husband and his family were alienating her from the child and that the child herself appeared to be more attached to them. We advised her not to misinterpret the relatives’ affection as a threat, but rather to take pride in the fact that the child was so loved. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to embrace that perspective,” Beena said.
"The depth of love the community had for the child was clearly visible in the crowd that gathered for her public homage", she added.