PALAKKAD: A woman slit the throat of her six-year-old son at their home in Pudupallytheruvu here on Sunday and told the police that she had sacrificed the child to propitiate the almighty.
Shahidha, 32, wife of Sulaiman of Pullakad, killed the youngest of her three children, Aameel Ehsaan, using a kitchen knife. The Town South police have arrested Shahidha, who is three months pregnant.
The police said the incident happened at 3.30 am. Ehsaan had slept beside Shahidha while Sulaiman and the other two children, Aadhul Atheef, 11, and Aameel Aidheed, 8, were sleeping in another room. She took her son to the bathroom, tied his legs and slit his throat.She herself dialled the helpline number of Janamaithri police.
The Town South police personnel arrived at the house by locating the mobile number. Shahidha came out of the house and told the police that she had sacrificed her son at the altar of god. The police inspected the house and found the boy lying dead in the bathroom. Sulaiman and the other children remained unaware of the incident until the police woke them up.
Local residents said Shahidha, a madrassa teacher, had great love for her children and that they did not know what led to her to commit such an act. Her relatives also stated that they had not noticed any quarrel worth mentioning in the family.
She had stopped going to the madrassa as she was pregnant. Sulaiman, who was employed in the Gulf, had returned home a few months ago.
He is now working as a taxi driver. The police said Shahidha had purchased a new knife recently through her husband and had collected the phone numbers of the Janamaithri police from her neighbours a few days ago.
A police team led by Superintendent R Viswanadh took stock of the situation. Police surgeon Dr Gujral and forensic and scientific experts inspected the crime scene.
The police also recovered the knife used for the killing. By afternoon, the body was removed for postmortem.
The police took Shahidha into custody in the morning and recorded her arrest. Viswanadh said the motive of the crime can be confirmed only after further questioning.