MADURAI: An investigation into the death of the newborn girl in Periyakatalai village of Sedapatti police station limit led to the arrest of the baby’s parents on Friday. The rural police claimed the girl died after her mother smashed her head against a wall.
Sources said the parents of the girl - O Muthupandi (30), a daily wager, and Kowsalya (23) - did not like the girl as she was born with a slight disability on her leg. “Further, they were not looking forward to a third daughter. The other two girls are aged four and six respectively. Kowsalya killed the newborn by smashing her head against a wall. Later, Muthupandi buried the body in front of the house,” they said adding their Kowsalya’s parents are taking care of the other two children.
Police said the incident came to light on Monday after a village head nurse went to check on the newborn and her mother at their house. “When asked, the couple told her that the child, born on December 21 at Primary Health Centre in Sedapatti, had died all of a sudden and her body was buried in front of the house,” they said.
Soon after the visit of the nurse, the couple along with their two other daughters fled, leading to suspicion of female infanticide. The postmortem examination carried out on the child’s body revealed that the girl suffered a head injury. Female infanticide is a highly condemnable act. If they can’t/don’t want to raise children, they can also alert the police. We will ensure that the children are in safe custody,” SP V Baskaran said.