V. Divya (29), mother of the twin female babies who were killed and buried, was arrested here on Monday.
Sources said Divya gave birth to the babies at a private hospital on May 22. During questioning by the police, she allegedly confessed to have killed the babies. She was in depression after giving birth to the twins, as she already had a girl child. Her husband, C. Kannan, a banana trader in a wholesale market here, was also upset with her for having delivered two baby girls, she reportedly told the police.
However, initially she maintained that the babies died unexpectedly when she was breastfeeding them.
Earlier, District Child Welfare Officer S. Kumudha received a call alerting her to the suspected infanticide. Immediately, a team of officials went to the house of Divya at Kannamangalam near Parakkai and questioned her and Kannan.
Acting on a complaint filed by Ms. Kumudha, Kottar police had registered a case under Section 174 of the Cr.PC (unnatural death).
The bodies of the babies were exhumed in the presence of revenue and police officials on Sunday and a post-mortem was conducted near the burial site by a team of doctors from Kanniyakumari Government Medical College Hospital.
The visceral samples were sent to a forensic laboratory for tests.
Kottar Police later altered the case invoking Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC, police sources said.
Divya was produced before Nagercoil Judicial Magistrate Court II, which remanded her in judicial custody.
