A 23-year-old woman has been taken into custody for killing her infant by throwing it from the fifth story of her Vidya Nagar apartment in Panampilly Nagar in Kochi. Kerala. The baby was pronounced dead following a postmortem examination and the mother was charged with murder by the authorities. According to the preliminary autopsy results, the infant died from head injuries. Since the woman was a rape victim, the police informed the media that her identity could not be disclosed. The investigation team intends to ask for the woman’s judicial custody after she recovers. She was moved to the Ernakulam General Hospital for treatment.
After she became pregnant, the woman had attempted to abort the child before but her efforts had failed. The woman added that she had searched the internet for information on how to get rid of the baby after he was born. She disclosed to the police that she did the deed out of dread of having given birth to a kid. She mentioned that on 3rd May at about 5 in the morning, she had given birth in the apartment’s bathroom. She then put a piece of cloth in the newborn’s mouth to prevent any cries and used a shawl to choke him. After that, she wrapped the baby in a plastic bag and flung the baby down to the road from the fifth-floor balcony when her mother knocked on the door, even though she had originally intended to ditch the body somewhere. She also contemplated ending her life at that point.
She also unveiled to the authorities that her parents had nothing to do with the incident and were not aware that she was pregnant. The parents have given similar statements as well. However, the cops are suspicious of their involvement and seek to question them once more to acquire more information.
The woman had transferred to a city college a month ago after studying in a nearby state. It has come to the attention of investigators that she was dating a young man from Thrissur whom she had met on social media but she didn’t say anything against him. A case will be registered only if she made any statement against him, per the police.
The corpse was spotted on the road by a school bus driver, wrapped in the plastic cover of an online shopping platform at around 8.15 am and called the police who rushed to the scene immediately. Other accounts divulged that the body was discovered by city cleaning staff who contacted the police. People’s representatives also reached there as well.
According to police, the victim had prepared herself completely for giving delivery in her home’s bathroom. They arrived at the location at about 8.30 am after receiving news that a newborn’s body had been found on a road. An official stated, “There were CCTV cameras installed outside the apartment. When we checked the footage, it was found that around 8- 8.15 am, a cover landed on the road from the top floors of the building. Thus we confirmed that someone living in the apartment had thrown out the body.”
However, when investigators examined the plastic cover next to the body, they made a breakthrough. There was a barcode printed on the Amazon plastic cover. When they scanned it, they found the address to which the package was delivered. “We managed to find a barcode on the plastic cover. After scanning the bar code, we found the address of the accused who was living in a flat on the fifth floor of the apartment. We interrogated the accused and she confessed to the crime,” an officer added.
An investigation into the situation has been launched by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The Kochi City police commissioner has been asked to provide a report to the commission. KV Manoj Kumar, the chairman of the Child Protection Rights Commission, conveyed that no one should harm newborns if they are unable to safeguard them. “There are many government systems to protect them, including Ammathottil, Children’s Home. They will grow up safe there.”
Meanwhile, a former maid named Sreeja who was fired from the household a few months ago has come forth with statements critical of the family amid these occurrences. Sreeja claimed that she had worked as a maid in the home for almost nine years before her unjust dismissal two months prior. According to her, the family members didn’t converse freely and were usually reticent. Additionally, Sreeja alleged that they owed her a month’s salary. She recounted being dismissed from work when the daughter returned from Bengaluru two months ago. She was taken aback to learn that the daughter was expecting because the girl was constantly using her computer while she was around.
