Kerala

40-day-old infant dies after father throws her into river

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a brutal incident, a 24-year-old man killed his baby by throwing her into the Karamana river at Pachalloor here on Thursday, the day of her naming ceremony. The child, named Sivaganga, was 40 days old. According to the Thiruvallam police, the accused — identified as Unnikrishnan — confessed to killing the infant over family issues. It is learnt that Unnikrishnan was not on good terms with wife Chinju and the couple has been living separately for a while.

The police said Unnikrishnan took the baby to a secluded spot at Vallathin Kadavu near Pachalloor around 7pm and threw her into the river. The child was wrapped in a plastic cover. The accused landed in the police net after an eye-witness, V Rajan, informed the police that he saw Unnikrishnan near the river bank under suspicious circumstances. Rajan had spotted him in the area on Wednesday night as well.

The officials said the accused had been planning the murder for a few weeks. Apparently, he was very suspicious of his wife. “Though they are living separately, the accused had come to Chinju’s house on Thursday to attend their baby’s naming ceremony. After the function, he told his father-in-law he was taking the child to his house for some time, but instead took her to the riverside and threw her into the water,” said V Saji Kumar, Thiruvallam CI.

Once back at his house, he reportedly started to give contradictory answers to his family’s questions. He claimed that he abandoned the child on the highway, after which the family went on a frantic search. “The accused later revealed the truth during interrogation. It is a case of planned murder,” the CI said.The police recovered the child’s body by midnight with the help of the fire force and local divers. It was shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital here, where a post-mortem was conducted. Unnikrishnan has been remanded in judicial custody.

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