Newborn baby's body dumped in plastic cover in Kerala: Police investigation on
The Kerala police on Wednesday recovered the decomposed body of a newborn baby from the backyard of a house in Kollam. According to Anchalummoodu police, the body was so decomposed that it could not be determined how old the baby was.
The police have registered a case under section 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of body) of the Indian Penal Code and has kept a woman from Maharashtra, believed to be the baby's mother, under surveillance. The woman, said police, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the district.
How the crime was reported
The Anchalumoodu Sub-inspector told TNM that the post-mortem report revealed that the baby was born prematurely.
"But we cannot say when the baby was born, since the body is completely decomposed. According to expert opinion, tests need to be conducted using the baby's bones to determine how old it was at the time of death," the SI said.
If the baby was stillborn, murder charges will not be pressed on the mother.
The incident came to light on Thursday, when the baby's mother sought medical help at a local hospital.
While she consulted the doctor complaining that she had abdominal pain, the doctorrealised that the woman had recently given birth.
"She denied it initially, but then when asked further, she confided in the doctor that she had given birth to a baby and that she dumped it in a plastic cover," the SI slleged.
According to the police, the woman was visiting her sister in Kollam when she delivered the baby.
"She had come to Kollam to attend a wedding and gave birth to the baby in her sister's house where the body was dumped," the police said.
Earlier in April, a couple from Puthur in Kollam district was arrested after they the body of their newborn was found buried in the backyard of their house. The baby was choked to death.