Newborn thrown from Kochi apartment, mother suspected to be rape survivor

On Friday, May 3, Kochi’s upscale Panampilly Nagar woke up to a horrific news. The body of a newborn baby, wrapped in a bloodied bundle of clothes inside a courier envelope, was found on the road next to a residential complex in the locality. The CCTV footage shockingly indicated that the baby was tossed out of an apartment, and the police have now revealed that the woman who delivered the child is suspected to be a survivor of rape.

The incident came to light around 7.30 am, after a sanitation worker spotted an abandoned bundle on the road and informed the police. A special team of the police took a 23-year-old woman into custody, allegedly after detecting blood stains in her apartment. A murder case has been registered and her arrest would be recorded soon. The police, however, told the media that the accused’s identity would be protected, as an element of coercion or rape is suspected.

“The survivor has confessed to the crime, but only after an inquest and postmortem can we reveal the motive behind it. Further investigation is required to ascertain if rape was involved,” Kochi District Police Chief Syamsundar told the media. He added that preliminary investigation suggests that the accused’s parents had no knowledge of the pregnancy, and that they aren’t involved in the crime. 

The police chief said the newborn was thrown out of the apartment approximately three hours after the delivery. “The accused seems to have been in a state of panic when it happened. Also, the postmortem has to determine if the baby was stillborn or killed later. That’s the only way to ascertain the extent of the accused’s involvement in the case,” he said.

Speaking to TNM, police said that details of the people in the flat where the crime is suspected to have taken place are being recorded. As part of the investigation, police have restricted access to the flat where the incident is believed to have taken place. The apartment has 21 flats. According to the residents, there are no children in the said flat.