A forensics team from Kerala’s Kannur district on Sunday confirmed the involvement of Saranya, a woman from Thayyil in Kannur, in the death of her one-and-a-half-year-old son Viyan.
The confirmation comes days after Saranya’s arrest by the Kannur police, after they recovered the body of Viyan amidst rocks along the sea shore, which is about 50 metres away from the family’s house in Kannur.
A team of forensic experts visited the site of murder in Kannur on Sunday to confirm that the bruises on the child’s body matched those in Saranya’s statements. The post mortem report of the child confirms that the boy died due to a head injury. According to reports, such fatal injuries can only occur if the child had been thrown with force on to the rocks on the shore.
On the day of the arrest on Monday, February 16, the toddler’s body was recovered after a search operation, following a complaint by his father Pranav that the child had been missing. On recovering the body, the police questioned both Saranya and Pranav on the murder. Both parents had accused each other of the murder. However, after a scientific examination of their clothes, the presence of salt in Saranya’s clothes were revealed, indicating that she may have been to the sea.
According to the police, Saranya had allegedly confessed to throwing Viyan on to the rocks near the sea in order to murder him. However, such a confession made to the police may not be admissible in court.
According to Saranya’s statement, she threw the baby two times on to the rocks to murder him. On confirming his death, she disposed of the body into the sea. The presence of salt in Viyan’s body confirms Saranya’s statement, police said.
The police are also looking at further evidence to confirm that it was the mother who murdered the toddler. Statements from Saranya also revealed that she was allegedly in a relationship with another man and wanted to live with him. That man, however, failed to appear for interrogation with the city police.
The city police commissioner had also issued an order to the man asking him to appear for questioning. However, according to reports, he stated that he was out of station and hence could not present himself.
On questioning eye witnesses, police noted that CCTV footage allegedly shows the man visiting the place of the murder a day before the incident.