Mother jailed for baby’s murder to walk free

The woman has been in judicial custody for nearly six years since the date of her arrest.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has set aside the order passed by a trial court sentencing a 33-year-old woman to undergo life imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 10,000 for allegedly killing her two-month-old baby by throwing it into a river in Koratagere of Tumakuru district in 2016. It is said that the child had respiratory problem and epilepsy, and the woman, from a village in Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh, was unable to breast feed the child properly. Because of this, she is said to have drowned the child in the Suvarnamukhi river.

The woman has been in judicial custody for nearly six years since the date of her arrest. The court directed the prison authorities to release her. Allowing the appeal filed by the woman, a division bench of Justice K Somashekar and Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar set aside the conviction and order of sentence dated July 22, 2017, passed by the trial court in Madhugiri, and acquitted her of murder charges. The court noted that no worthwhile evidence was presented by the prosecution to secure the conviction for the offence under section 302 of the IPC.

The counsel of the accused contended that the complainant, husband of the woman, turned hostile, but the trial court gave more credibility to the evidence of the doctors and the investigating officer. The accused, on August 24, 2016, came to a hospital in Koratagere along with the baby. When she did not return home, her husband launched a search for them.

At around 6.30 pm, he noticed his wife sitting at Koratagere bus stand. When he asked her about the child, she told him that somebody closed her mouth and took away the child and the jewellery. The husband then filed a complaint with the local police. During investigation, she revealed that she killed her daughter by throwing her into the river.

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