Days after the body of a 2-day-old baby girl was found flushed down a toilet in Kerala, the police have no leads in the case.
The baby's body was recovered from the toilet attached to the consulting room of Dr Abdul Rahman at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district last Friday, when plumbers were called in to clear the clogged toilet.
The Nattukal police investigating the case told TNM on Tuesday that the baby was stillborn. While they had initially filed a case of unnatural death, the police later altered it to section 318 of IPC (Concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body). This is a bailable offence.
"Since the baby was stillborn, there is no possibility of registering a murder case," the police said.
The investigation is currently centred around two migrant colonies near the doctor's house, said the police.
"Nobody has seen anything, also because the doctor's house is a little away from the main road. So we have not received any useful leads from the neighbours yet. But we are questioning the residents of a migrant colony nearby, with the help of ASHA workers," Nattukal Sub-Inspector said.
The incident came to light on April 13, when Dr Abdul Rahman called in plumbers to fix the clogged toilet of his consultation room. This, after the domestic worker who generally cleans the toilet reported to the doctor the previous day, that the toilet was clogged with what looked like muddy water. However, when the plumbers used a rod to drain out the water, the baby's head emerged. Following this, Dr Abdul Rahman filed a complaint with the Nattukal police.
Due to the presence of blood inside the closet, the police believe that the mother of the baby delivered inside the toilet and flushed the child down. The baby's placenta was also intact, strengthening the suspicion of the police that the mother delivered the baby inside the toilet.
Scientific experts will collect evidence from the toilet on Tuesday.