THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a shocking development in the death of the one-and-a-half-year-old from Nedumangad, the partner of the toddler’s mother was arrested on Saturday on murder charges.
Ashkar, 31, the partner of the child’s mother, Akhila, 24, was arrested by the Nedumangad police after the postmortem report indicated internal bleeding in the child’s body. The mother is also likely to be included in the chargesheet, as she knew about Ashkar regularly beating her son Arshid, but did not intervene or report it to the authorities, police officials said.
According to the post-mortem report, the child suffered from internal bleeding in different parts of the body, including the head, from suspected repeated beatings over the course of time.
According to police officials, there are up to 50 marks of different injuries- big and small- from different periods, which include even burn marks that prima facie appear from that of cigarette butts. Currently, the investigation is being headed by the Nedumangad DySP. “Following her husband’s death, Akhila had stated before the police that she was unable to look after the child.
Later, Akhila’s mother took care of the boy. Akhila had been living with Ashik during this period, and was not legally married. This is a pure case of the parents not willing to take care of the child,” police officials said.
The incident came to light when the child was admitted to a private hospital in Panavoor on Friday, due to choking after having lunch.
Even though he was rushed to the SAT Hospital later in the evening, the doctors declared him dead. Though the relatives had earlier alleged that the death was suspicious, the police waited for medical evidence before taking further action.
