A Thiruvallam-native in Thiruvananthapuram district has been nabbed by police for allegedly drowning his 40-day-old baby in a river. It was following a missing complaint filed by the baby’s mother on Thursday that the police retrieved the infant’s body from the river.
On Thursday morning, Unnikrishnan took the baby from their house, stating that he wanted to show the infant to his mother, who lives away from them. But when they did not return even after evening, the baby’s mother filed a complaint with the Thiruvallam police.
Following an intense search in the region, police were told by witnesses that they saw a drenched Unnikrishnan coming up from the river. On a subsequent search in the river, by around 2 am, police retrieved the deceased baby. According to a witness who spoke to Manorama News, the baby was wrapped in cloths and a plastic cover.
Watch the river where baby was drowned:
“It was the baby’s noolukettu -- a Hindu traditional function held after a baby is born -- on Thursday. After the function, he took the baby saying he wanted to show the infant to his mother,” the baby’s maternal grandmother told the media. According to reports, Unnikrishnan, who is the second husband of the baby’s mother, had conflicts with his wife for a long time. Allegedly, the wife did not accompany Unnikrishnan and the baby to his mother’s house because of family issues.
According to police, though Unnikrishnan was located by night, he tried to mislead officers by giving them the wrong information.
“He delayed a lot of time by giving us wrong information. At first, he said he kept the baby on a road, then said that he kept it near a pond, under a bridge etc. It was by around 1 am on Friday that he finally told us about the river. Some people in the region had also seen him walking away from here. Then with the help of the Fire and Rescue team, the baby was retrieved,” Thiruvallam Circle Inspector Saji Kumar told the media.
Police officials of the station told TNM that Unnikrishnan’s arrest has not been recorded yet, but he is in custody. Meanwhile, the baby’s body has been taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for a post-mortem.
Watch reaction of police and family members: