3 months on, mom held for killing girl child in Namakkal

The accused, C Kasthuri wife of Surya, 28, a daily wager from Erumapatti was upset as it was their third girl child. Though the incident took place nearly three months ago, the Erumapatti police made the arrest only on Friday after the post mortem report confirmed that the baby succumbed to a severe head injury. On further inquiries, Kasthuri confessed to have killed the baby by smashing its head on the wall while the infant was asleep in the cradle.

The couple already had two daughters aged six and four and was desperate for a boy, but was upset after it turned out to be a girl. Police said that a day after delivering a girl baby on April 4 at Namakkal Medical College Hospital, Kasthuri and her husband fled from the hospital without informing the doctors. On the directions of the hospital authorities to Block Medical Officer in Erumapatti to check the whereabouts of the couple, the staff came to know that the baby had died and it was buried by the family members.

Though the family members claimed that the baby died unexpectedly due to some ailment, the medical officer lodged a complaint with Erumapatti police seeking a probe into the mysterious death of the child. Therefore, the police exhumed the body of the baby in the presence of officials from the Revenue department and a post mortem was performed by doctors from the government hospital.

Almost, three months after the incident, the police arrested the woman as the post mortem report confirmed that the baby was murdered brutally by its mother. A case was registered against the woman for murder and she was lodged in Salem Central Prison after being produced in a court in Namakkal.