A 15-month-old girl was killed allegedly by her mother at Pattanakkad, near Cherthala. The deceased has been identified as Adhisha, daughter of Sharon and Athira, of Kollamvely Colony, Pattanakkad.
The police on Sunday said the girl’s mother Athira, 24, who has a criminal record, was arrested in connection with the case. “Athira confessed to us that she murdered her daughter,” said Amrut Rangan, Sub Inspector, Pattanakkad police.
According to the police, the toddler was found unresponsive on a bed inside her home on Saturday. Athira and her neighbours took the child first to a private hospital and then to the Taluk Headquarters Hospital, Cherthala. However, doctors declared the child brought dead at 1.55 p.m. and informed the police. When the police inspected the body, a small cut was found on the lips of the girl. On Sunday, the post-mortem examination was done at the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, and the report concluded asphyxiation as the cause of death.
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Following the funeral, the police called Athira, her father-in-law Baiju, who were both at the home when incident happened, and other family members for questioning. After a few hours of grilling, Athira confessed to the police that she got irritated by her daughter crying and smothered her.
Earlier case
Sources said that family members used to quarrel often. Earlier, Athira and her husband Sharon, married two years ago, had been sent to judicial custody by a local court in Cherthala based on a complaint filed by Sharon’s mother Priya alleging that the couple attacked and injured her. With parents imprisoned, the then five-month-old child too spent a few days in the prison. Sources added that Athira had been rough with the child and often beat her. At the time of the murder, Priya and Sharon, employees of a prawn processing company, were away at their workplace.
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